Written Answers Friday 29 February 2008

Scottish Executive

Alcohol Misuse

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to ensure that adequate funding is being provided to deliver alcohol support services in (a) Aberdeen City, (b) Aberdeenshire and (c) Angus.

Shona Robison: Over the next three years we are investing an additional £85 million to increase access to early intervention and treatment for people with alcohol problems. The majority of the funding will be allocated either directly to the NHS or for services commissioned by Alcohol and Drug Action Teams, in line with local need.

  We will write to NHS boards shortly to give details of allocations.

Alcohol Misuse

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding was provided to deliver alcohol support services in (a) Aberdeen City, (b) Aberdeenshire and (c) Angus from 2003 to 2007.

Shona Robison: NHS boards are responsible for onward distribution to Alcohol and Drug Action Teams (ADATs) of Scottish Government funding to tackle alcohol misuse.

  The following table sets out the funding for Grampian Health Board (covering Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Moray ADATs), and Tayside Health Board (covering Angus, Dundee and Perth and Kinross ADATs) from 2004-05 to 2007-08. Note there was no specific alcohol allocation prior to 2004-05.

  

 NHS Board
 2004-05
 2005-06
 2006-07
 2007-08


 Grampian
£212,000
£699,000
£699,000
£715,077


 Tayside
£168,000
£556,000
£556,000
£568,788



  Some further detailed information may be available in the individual ADATs Corporate Action Plans through the attached link http://www.drugmisuse.isdscotland.org/dat/cap/0708.htm.

Alcohol Misuse

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding will be provided to deliver alcohol support services in (a) Aberdeen City, (b) Aberdeenshire and (c) Angus during the spending review period.

Shona Robison: In 2008-09, over £26 million will be allocated to NHS boards to tackle alcohol misuse. We will write to NHS boards shortly to set out details of allocations.

  Funding for 2009-10 and 2010-11 has not yet been set.

Alcohol Misuse

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it proposes to distribute the £85 million allocated to tackle alcohol problems over the next three years.

Shona Robison: The majority of the additional £85 million will be allocated directly to NHS boards and will be used to ensure increased access to early intervention and treatment, and for prevention activity.

  NHS boards’ individual allocations will be notified shortly.

Autism

Willie Coffey (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action has been taken in response to the report of the Autism Spectrum Disorder and Education Working Group set up to take forward the recommendations in Education for Pupils with Autism Spectrum Disorders, published by HM Inspectorate of Education in October 2006.

Adam Ingram: While the Autism Spectrum Disorder Education Working Group (the Group) has not published a specific report, the agreed output from their considerations is the production of an autism toolbox for local authorities and schools. The Scottish Autism Service Network is assisting the Group with this task and the framework for this toolbox will be published on 2 April 2008, which is World Autism Day. It is expected that the final document will published in summer 2008.

Autism

Willie Coffey (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action has been taken to meet the support needs of children with autism spectrum disorder and their parents, including the provision of funding to other agencies to undertake such work, and by what means information on such services is made available to affected families.

Adam Ingram: The Scottish Government has taken a significant number of steps to meet the support the needs of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and their parents which includes:

  Our new concordat with local government includes a commitment for local authorities to make progress towards delivering an extra 10,000 respite weeks per annum for carers’ support.

  Funding, rising to £5 million per annum, has been allocated to support NHS boards in implementing their Carer Information Strategies. These strategies include a requirement for NHS staff to direct carers to appropriate local support services.

  NHS Education were funded to develop an information booklet for parents of children diagnosed with an ASD which is available from NHS boards at diagnosis.

  Strathclyde University has been funded to develop the Scottish Autism Service Network (SASN), which is a hub that can direct people to suitable services and share information and good practice across Scotland.

  SASN has been funded to assist in the development of a toolbox for education authorities and schools. It is expected that the framework for the toolbox will be published on 2 April 2008, which is World Autism Awareness Day and the final document will be published in summer 2008.

  The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act aims to ensure that all children with additional support needs, including those with ASD, receive the support they require to help them achieve their full potential. Local authorities are under a duty to publish Information on their policies under this act.

Central Heating Programme

Joe FitzPatrick (Dundee West) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many central heating programme installations have been carried out in the Dundee City Council area in the last two years, broken down by month of installation.

Stewart Maxwell: For the scheme as a whole, information is not held by local authority or parliamentary constituency area, but by main postcode.

  Information on the numbers of systems installed, on a monthly basis in the DD postcode area is only available from October 2006. The number of systems installed, in the DD postcode area, over the period from October 2006 until January 2008 is shown in the following table:

  

 
DD


October 2006
2*


November 2006
2*


December 2006
3*


January 2007
76*


February 2007
75*


March 2007
75*


April 2007
57


May 2007
58


June 2007
76


July 2007
63


August 2007
29


September 2007
34


October 2007
37


November 2007
139


December 2007
50


January 2008
77


Total
853



  Notes:

  1. The figures are marked with an asterisk where the current managing agent (Scottish Gas) has provided figures on a three-monthly rather than a monthly basis, during the start up period covering its involvement on the programme. The figures given are the monthly average for the relevant three-month period.

  2. The DD postcode area is the main postcode covering the Dundee City Council area.

Communities

Jamie Hepburn (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what support it provides for community development in rural areas outside the Highlands and Islands.

Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government provides resources through a variety of mechanisms to local authorities and to a number of agencies responsible for supporting community development in rural areas within and outside the Highlands and Islands.

  The Scottish Government itself will be injecting some £1.6 billion into rural areas through the Scottish Rural Development Programme 2007-2013. Funding will be delivered through a variety of mechanisms including Rural Development Contracts and LEADER. In addition, £195,000 will be made available to the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations to support non-crofting county rural communities to produce investment plans to access funding. This extends similar assistance which is available for the crofting counties from the Crofters Commission to the rest of Scotland.

Communities

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding will be provided to communities in the Carrick, Cumnock, and Doon Valley parliamentary constituency as part of the Cashback for Communities programme.

Kenny MacAskill: The announcement made on the 15 February 2008 making £3 million available to fund youth projects through the CashBack for Communities programme will see every local authority area in Scotland benefit. The following table shows how funding will be distributed within each local authority area.

  Additionally, the announcement made on the 11 January 2008 regarding funding to the Scottish Football Association (SFA) of £2.2 million will see upwards of 30,000 young people in every part of Scotland benefit from free football coaching and playing opportunities.

  The Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley constituency will specifically benefit from the following initiatives which are being delivered by the SFA:

  Friday night leagues held in Dalmellington and Cumnock.

  The Soccer One programme which will be held at Doon Academy and Cumnock Academy, extending into Soccer 2 and 3 from August onwards.

  The Street Football programme, beginning over the forthcoming Easter break and which will be held in Catrine, Netherthird, Stewarton and Bellsbank.

  Allocation Based on Percentage of Population 10-191 and Percentage of Population 10 - 19 in 15% Most Deprived Data Zones2

  

 Local Authority Name
 


 Aberdeen City
 91,000 


 Aberdeenshire
 81,000 


 Angus
 43,000 


 Argyll and Bute
 40,000 


 Clackmannanshire
 40,000 


 Dumfries and Galloway
 61,000 


 Dundee City
 122,000 


 East Ayrshire
 82,000 


 East Dunbartonshire
 39,000 


 East Lothian
 31,000 


 East Renfrewshire
 34,000 


 Edinburgh, City of
 220,000 


 Eilean Siar
 10,000 


 Falkirk
 69,000 


 Fife
 185,000 


 Glasgow City
 680,000 


 Highland
 84,000 


 Inverclyde
 83,000 


 Midlothian
 33,000 


 Moray
 27,000 


 North Ayrshire
 94,000 


 North Lanarkshire
 224,000 


 Orkney Islands
 10,000 


 Perth and Kinross
 51,000 


 Renfrewshire
 100,000 


 Scottish Borders
 37,000 


 Shetland Islands
 10,000 


 South Ayrshire
 50,000 


 South Lanarkshire
 176,000 


 Stirling
 40,000 


 West Dunbartonshire
 82,000 


 West Lothian
 71,000 


 Grand Total
 3,000,000 



  Notes:

  1. Source: GROS population estimates 2006 (revised).

  2. Source: SIMD website, SNS website - population 2005.

Community Safety Partnerships

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding each local authority received for community safety partnerships in each year of the 2004 spending review.

Fergus Ewing: The following table provides a break down of funding to local authorities for community safety partnerships for each year of the 2004 spending review:

  

 Partnership
 Allocation 2005-06
 Allocation 2006-07
 Allocation 2007-08


 Aberdeen City
 174,346.96
 204,373.71
 183,936.33


 Aberdeenshire
 107,773.79
 132,014.74
 118,813.26


 Angus
 74,353.66
 132,014.74
 88,650.43


 Argyll and Bute
 62,002.27
 83,441.54
 75,097.39


 Clackmannanshire
 61,109.45
 83,531.11
 75,177.99


 Dumfries and Galloway
 85,353.57
 103,916.88
 93,525.19


 Dundee
 130,646.00
 153,639.29
 138,275.36


 East Ayrshire
 94,196.23
 119,379.09
 107,441.18


 East Dunbartonshire
 71,240.80
 97,415.99
 87,674.39


 East Lothian
 64,797.33
 88,274.63
 79,447.17


 East Renfrewshire
 63,528.28
 86,998.39
 78,298.55


 Edinburgh
 230,533.00
 259,974.01
 233,976.60


 Falkirk
 88,715.97
 105,909.76
 95,318.78


 Fife
 166,338.90
 202,154.53
 182,939.07


 Glasgow
 296,305.87
 328,425.06
 295,582.55


 Highland
 106,895.12
 134,698.32
 121,228.48


 Inverclyde
 86,357.50
 115,567.88
 104,011.09


 Midlothian
 72,718.97
 100,685.79
 90,617.21


 Moray
 69,883.47
 97,792.45
 88,013.21


 North Ayrshire
 93,806.82
 119,203.02
 107,282.71


 North Lanarkshire
 156,319.29
 179,539.17
 161,585.25


 Orkney
 21,172.55
 41,757.80
 37,582.02


 Perth and Kinross
 81,485.61
 98,291.24
 88,462.12


 Renfrewshire
 120,738.48
 145,997.75
 131,397.97


 Scottish Borders
 70,514.97
 94,513.92
 85,062.53


 Shetland Isles
 26,753.53
 45,609.17
 41,048.25


 South Ayrshire
 81,645.14
 109,847.82
 98,863.04


 South Lanarkshire
 143,906.92
 174,677.82
 157,210.03


 Stirling
 68,481.62
 93,616.64
 84,254.95


 West Dunbartonshire
 98,695.32
 120,660.01
 108,594.00


 West Lothian
 105,880.30
 131,778.64
 118,600.77


 Western Isles
 23,512.31
 49,661.55
 44,695.39

Dentistry

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of Orkney residents aged 18 and over have visited an NHS dentist in the most recent period for which figures are available and what the comparative figures are for Scotland as a whole.

Shona Robison: The specific information requested is not collected centrally. However, figures on the number and percentage of people aged 18 and over in Orkney and in Scotland who are registered with dentists under NHS general dental services arrangements are available and are published at http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/4680.html .

Dentistry

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the net expenditure was on NHS dental care per head in Orkney in the most recent year for which figures are available and how this compared with the net expenditure per head in Scotland.

Shona Robison: In the financial year 2006-07, net expenditure on NHS dental care per head in Orkney was £104 1,2 and in Scotland was £73 1,2 .

  Notes:

  1. Expenditure on NHS hospital, community and family health dental services.

  2. Includes specialties dental and oral surgery and medicine, and Allied Health Professionals (AHP) out-patient service provided by dental ancillary staff.

Dentistry

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many dentists there are in Orkney per head of population and how this compares with the number of dentists per head of population in Scotland as a whole.

Shona Robison: At 30 September 2007, there were 6.6 NHS dentists 1 per 10,000 population in Orkney and 5.7 NHS dentists 1. per 10,000 population in Scotland as a whole.

  Note: 1. Head count of dentists working in the sectors of NHS general, community and hospital dental services (not the whole-time equivalent number, as information on the working hours of each dentist is not collected). A dentist may work in more than one sector of NHS dentistry.

Dentistry

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the percentage of people in Orkney who visit a private dentist and what the comparative percentage is for Scotland as a whole.

Shona Robison: Information on the percentage of people who visit a private dentist is not available centrally.

Dentistry

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to questions S3W-8587 and S3W-8588 by Shona Robison on 28 January 2008, when it will publish details of the scheme to increase the percentage of all three to five-year-olds who are registered with a dentist to 80% by 2010-11, promised by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing on 12 December 2007 ( Official Report c. 4291).

Shona Robison: As part of the local delivery plan each NHS board has been asked to put in place plans to take forward plans to meet this target.

  A number of measures have been introduced over the last few years to recruit and retain dentists in the NHS, including recruitment and retention allowances, remote areas and deprived areas allowances, reimbursement of practice rental costs and the general dental practice allowance.

  Funding has also been provided under the 2006-07 and 2007-08 Primary and Community Care Premises Modernisation Programme to provide new or substantially improved premises to support the delivery of NHS dentistry in areas currently with gaps in service provision. A number of these projects are due to be completed in this financial year.

  In November 2006, a dental bursary was introduced in Scotland for dental students at Glasgow and Dundee Dental Schools. The bursary scheme has proved extremely popular. There are over 460 students currently in receipt of the dental bursary which ties the students in to the NHS Scotland for a period of up to five years following graduation.

  The number of dental students graduating from the dental schools has increased and the new Aberdeen dental school will also increase the number of dentists available for working in Scotland.

Dentistry

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S3W-8587 and S3W-8588 by Shona Robison on 28 January 2008, in which financial year it will publish details of the scheme to increase the percentage of all three to five-year-olds who are registered with a dentist to 80% by 2010-11, promised by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing on 12 December 2007 ( Official Report c. 4291).

Shona Robison: The Better Health, Better Care Action Plan (December 2007)  outlined our target for NHS Boards to ensure that 80% of all children are registered with a NHS dentist by 2010-11.

  This will be achieved in a number of ways:

  As part of the local delivery plan each NHS board has been asked to put in place plans to take forward plans to meet this target.

  A number of measures have been introduced over the last few years to recruit and retain dentists in the NHS, including recruitment and retention allowances, remote areas and deprived areas allowances, reimbursement of practice rental costs and the general dental practice allowance.

  Funding has also been provided under the 2006-07 and 2007-08 Primary and Community Care Premises Modernisation Programme to provide new or substantially improved premises to support the delivery of NHS dentistry in areas currently with gaps in service provision. A number of these projects are due to be completed in this financial year.

  In November 2006 a dental bursary was introduced in Scotland for dental students at Glasgow and Dundee Dental Schools. The bursary scheme has proved extremely popular. There are over 460 students currently in receipt of the dental bursary which ties the students in to the NHS Scotland for a period of up to five years following graduation.

  The number of dental students graduating from the dental schools has increased and the new Aberdeen dental school will also increase the number of dentists available for working in Scotland.

Dentistry

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS dental patients were deregistered in NHS Tayside in each month from April 2006 to March 2007.

Shona Robison: The latest available information is shown in the following table.

  NHS General Dental Service Patients whose Registration Status Shows "Withdrawn"1,2 for NHS Tayside; by Month

  

 
 2006-07


 April
 410


 May
 177


 June 
 248


 July
 194


 August
 77


 September
 130


 October
 116


 November
 172


 December
 259


 January
 48


 February
 207


 March
 112



  Source: MIDAS (Management Information & Dental Accounting System).

  Notes:

  1. Based on patients whose registration status indicated "withdrawn" between the dates considered. This occurs when there is a request for the registration record to be withdrawn (made usually by the dentist, and subsequently approved by the NHS board). The numbers also include withdrawals carried out where more than one active registration exists for the same patient as part of data cleansing. Some patients whose registration has been withdrawn may register with another NHS dentist elsewhere. There may also be retrospective additions to these data.

  2. If a patient has been withdrawn from more than one dental practice, they will be counted each time this happens. It is also possible for a patient to be counted in more than one month if they have moved to a dentist in a different month and have been withdrawn from a practice in a month where they have received NHS general dental services.

Dentistry

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS dental patients were newly registered in NHS Tayside in each month from April 2006 to March 2007.

Shona Robison: This information is currently being collated and I will reply as soon as it is available.

Dentistry

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS dental patients have been deregistered in NHS Tayside since April 2007 up to the latest date for which information is available.

Shona Robison: The latest available information is shown in the table.

  NHS General Dental Service Patients whose Registration Status Shows "Withdrawn"1,2 for NHS Tayside; by Month

  

 
 2007-08P


 April
 75


 May
 93


 June 
 151


 July
 34


 August
 112


 September
 32


 October
 23


 November
 23


 December
 25


 January
 33


 February
 n/a


 March
 n/a



  Source: MIDAS (Management Information & Dental Accounting System).

  PProvisional.

  Notes:

  n/a Not available.

  1. Based on patients whose registration status indicated "withdrawn" between the dates considered. This occurs when there is a request for the registration record to be withdrawn (made usually by the dentist, and subsequently approved by the NHS board). The numbers also include withdrawals carried out where more than one active registration exists for the same patient as part of data cleansing. Some patients whose registration has been withdrawn may register with another NHS dentist elsewhere. There may also be retrospective additions to these data.

  2. If a patient has been withdrawn from more than one dental practice, they will be counted each time this happens. It is also possible for a patient to be counted in more than one month if they have moved to a dentist in a different month and have been withdrawn from a practice in a month where they have received NHS general dental services.

Dentistry

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what evaluation has been made of dental health for under five-year-olds in (a) the Dunfermline East parliamentary constituency, (b) Fife and (c) Scotland.

Shona Robison: The National Dental Inspection Programme (NDIP) provides an essential source of information for tracking changes in the dental health of Scottish Children. Key age groups are targeted: at entry into school in primary one (P1) and in primary seven (P7) before the move to secondary school.

  The 2006 National Dental Inspection Programme of Scotland on P1 children contains the information on (b) Fife and (c) Scotland. The information is not held for parliamentary constituencies.

  http://www.scottishdental.org/docs/ndip_scotland2006_mainP1report.pdf.

Diabetes

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to educate people about the causes and symptoms of diabetes.

Shona Robison: One of the key actions in the Diabetes Action Plan is to improve communication and dissemination of information about diabetes in Scotland. The plan identifies two of the main mechanisms as clinical guidelines and clinical standards.

  The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) is reviewing its existing Guideline 51 (2001) on the management of diabetes, and will produce a version of the Guideline suitable for lay readership. NHS Quality Improvement Scotland and Diabetes UK Scotland are about to publish the results of a follow-up review of performance against the diabetes clinical standards. Again, the document is intended to be accessible to a non-clinical readership.

  Through the Scottish Diabetes Group, a single national online portal is being developed to address the needs of people with diabetes for accessible information of high quality. It can be viewed at: www.mydiabetesmyway.org.uk.

  The Scottish Government welcomes the information on the causes and symptoms of diabetes produced by Diabetes UK Scotland. This supports an integral part of the government’s approach to encouraging the self-management of long-term conditions, which is that people should be made aware of the information and support available through voluntary sector organisations.

Education

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there will be statutory targets and indicators for education and early years provision.

Adam Ingram: The national outcomes contained in the Scottish Budget: Spending Review 2007  outline what the Scottish Government, working with our partners, aim to deliver in education and early years provision. That document also contains the set of national indicators and targets through which we will measure the achievement of these outcomes across government. The national outcomes and indicators sit alongside the continued delivery of the statutory responsibilities placed on councils and their partners to care for all people in their communities.

Education

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-8488 by Fiona Hyslop on 21 January 2008, what total amount was allocated to youth work for local delivery in each year from 2003 to 2007 and what percentage of the budget for children and young people this represented, excluding spending that would have been subsumed into other budgets such as community health.

Adam Ingram: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-8488 on 21 January 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

  The Scottish Government’s consolidated resource accounts are laid before Parliament annually and detail expenditure on the government’s stated aims for each financial year, including spend on children and young people. In the period 2003-07 there was no "children and young people" budget line, rather expenditure on these groups ranged across the government’s budgets.

Education

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-8497 by Fiona Hyslop on 31 January 2008, what total amount was allocated to the Alternatives to Exclusion programme in each year from 2003 to 2007 and what percentage of the budget for children and young people this represented, excluding spending that would have been subsumed into other budgets such as community health.

Adam Ingram: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-8501 on 29 January 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

  The Scottish Government’s consolidated resource accounts are laid before Parliament annually and detail expenditure on the government’s stated aims for each financial year, including spend on children and young people. In the period 2003-07 there was no "children and young people" budget line, rather expenditure on these groups ranged across the government’s budgets.

Education

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-8482 by Adam Ingram on 29 January 2008, what total amount was allocated to the National Priority Action Fund in each year from 2003 to 2007 and what percentage of the budget for children and young people this represented, excluding spending that would have been subsumed into other budgets such as community health.

Adam Ingram: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-8482 on 29 January 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

  The Scottish Government’s consolidated resource accounts are laid before Parliament annually and detail expenditure on the government’s stated aims for each financial year, including spend on children and young people. In the period 2003-07 there was no "children and young people" budget line, rather expenditure on these groups ranged across the government’s budgets.

Education

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-8652 by Fiona Hyslop on 24 January 2008, how it differentiates between reimbursing those involved in children’s panels for loss of earnings and not reimbursing lay members of school inspection teams.

Maureen Watt: It is not possible to draw a direct comparison. HM Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) has never paid lay members. I believe that paying lay members would remove critical aspects of their independence and it is important to continue to encourage people to volunteer to apply whose main motivation is the betterment of education.

Education

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-8652 by Fiona Hyslop on 24 January 2008, why it considers that reimbursing lay members of school inspection teams would jeopardise their integrity and independence.

Maureen Watt: HM Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) have had no difficulty in recruiting and retaining sufficient lay members without paying for their time. This is because those who apply have a genuine desire to improve education. Reimbursing lay members runs the risk of an increase in people applying to join HMIE for monetary reward rather than for this desire to improve public services.

  The perception of lay members might also change. Currently their position as voluntary and independent contributors to the inspection process is understood by schools and local authorities. This is particularly important in relation to parents and other members of the community with an interest in the performance of the school.

Education

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it ensures diversity and a balance of demographics in its selection and recruitment processes for lay members of school inspection teams.

Maureen Watt: HM Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) advertises the position of lay member in all of its inspection reports. It has also targeted a wide range of publications including The Big Issue to ensure as wide a coverage as possible. They have also ensured that opportunities are made available to volunteer or community organisations within specific minority sections of society. As a consequence, lay members come from all across Scotland.

  HMIE also have a policy of renewal, in that lay members serve for a period before being replaced. This continually refreshes the pool of people involved. This ensures that lay members retain the impartial but informed view of a member of the public that makes their contribution so valuable to the inspection process.

Education

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to review the recruitment process of lay members of school inspection teams.

Maureen Watt: The use of lay members is being reviewed as part of the changes being made to inspections of schools and other services in the light of the Scottish Government’s national performance framework for local government. There may be a need to recruit further lay members to suit new models of inspection with commensurate adjustment to training and staff development requirements.

Education

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which authority has the power to decide whether lay members of school inspection teams should be reimbursed for their loss of earnings.

Maureen Watt: It is for HM Inspectorate of Education to decide whether to pay for the services of lay members as the financial implications for any change to the present position would need to be met by them.

Education

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive on what dates the Minister for Children and Early Years met parents’ representatives from Littlemill Primary School to discuss proposals by East Ayrshire Council to close the school.

Adam Ingram: I have not met with parents’ representatives of Littlemill Primary School on this matter.

Education

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many schools have a kiln in their art departments.

Maureen Watt: The information requested is not held centrally.

Education

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many incidents of bullying in schools were recorded by education authorities in each year since 1999, also broken down by local authority area.

Adam Ingram: The information requested is not held centrally. Education authorities and schools decide how incidents of bullying should be monitored and recorded.

Emergency Services

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what benefits patients in remote and rural areas can hope to gain from the Emergency Medical Retrieval Service.

Shona Robison: The Emergency Medical Retrieval Service (EMRS) exists to provide consultant based on site resuscitation and safe transfer for patients with life threatening injuries and illness in remote and rural hospitals.

  Patients can expect quicker, safer and more effective transfer to specialist services in the event of illness or injury.

Emergency Services

Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Emergency Medical Retrieval Service will be rolled out across the whole of Scotland if pilot projects are successful.

Shona Robison: The pilot Emergency Medical Retrieval Service (EMRS) to support emergency health care in remote and rural Scotland will begin 1 June 2008. The pilot will run for 18 months along the West Coast of Scotland and will be accompanied by rigorous evaluation. The findings of the evaluation will inform the decision on the future development of the service beyond the pilot period in other remote and rural areas.

Emergency Services

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many 999 calls (a) Grampian Fire and Rescue Service, (b) Grampian Police and (c) NHS Grampian responded to in (i) 2003, (ii) 2004, (iii) 2005, (iv) 2006 and (v) 2007.

Fergus Ewing: Information on the number of 999 calls responded to by Grampian Fire and Rescue Service and Grampian Police is not held centrally. However, information on the number of calls handled by Grampian Fire and Rescue and the number of 999 calls handled by Grampian Police is published on the Performance Information section of the Audit Scotland website, at the following web addresses:

  http://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/performance/fire/.

  http://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/performance/police/.

  The number of 999 calls responded to by the Scottish Ambulance Service in the NHS Grampian Board area are shown in the following table.

  Number of 999 Calls Responded to by the Scottish Ambulance Service in the NHS Grampian Board Area

  

 Board
 Year


 2003
 2004
 2005
 2006
 2007


 NHS Grampian
 26,526
 26,792
 27,272
 32,249
 34,166

Emergency Services

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many 999 calls (a) Tayside Fire and Rescue Service, (b) Tayside Police and (c) NHS Tayside responded to in (i) 2003, (ii) 2004, (iii) 2005, (iv) 2006 and (v) 2007.

Fergus Ewing: Information on the number of 999 calls responded to by Tayside Fire and Rescue Service and Tayside Police is not held centrally. However, information on the number of calls handled by Tayside Fire and Rescue and the number of 999 calls handled by Tayside Police is published on the Performance Information section of the Audit Scotland website, at the following web addresses:

  http://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/performance/fire/.

  http://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/performance/police/.

  The number of 999 calls responded to by the Scottish Ambulance Service in the NHS Tayside Board area are shown in the following table.

  Number of 999 Calls Responded to by the Scottish Ambulance Service in the NHS Tayside Board Area

  

 Board
 Year


 2003
 2004
 2005
 2006
 2007


 NHS Tayside
 22,940
 24,129
 25,485
 27,822
 28,454

Environmental Justice

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what resources will be available under the Community Environmental Renewal Scheme and the Environmental Justice Fund in 2008-09.

Michael Russell: The Community Environmental Renewal Scheme and the Environmental Justice Fund will close at the end of 2007-08.

  The Scottish Budget Spending review 2007 sets out the governments plans for spending on Sustainable Development and Climate Change. These plans include a new Climate Challenge Fund, which will launch later this year.

Foster Care

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much Dumfries and Galloway Council will receive for the provision of kinship care allowances in each year of the spending review period.

Adam Ingram: As set out in the Scottish Budget: Spending Review 2007 , the payment of kinship care allowances has now been incorporated into the total local government settlement. As part of this settlement, local government has agreed to work with the Scottish government to contribute to the delivery of the national outcomes and on the specific commitments which are also outlined in that document.

Foster Care

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding each local authority received for improving fostering services in each year of the 2004 spending review.

Adam Ingram: In November 2004 £12 million was made available to improve fostering services including the recruitment and retention of foster carers, across Scotland.

  

 Local Authority
Financial Year
2005-06
Financial Year
2006-07
Financial Year
2007-08
 Total


 Aberdeen
£135,200.00
£270,422.00
£135,207.00
£540,829.00


 Aberdeenshire
£91,000.00
£182,093.00
£91,031.00
£364,124.00


 Angus
£57,100.00
£114,251.00
£57,117.00
£228,468.00


 Argyll and Bute
£43,700.00
£87,490.00
£43,730.00
£174,920.00


 Clackmannanshire
£25,900.00
£51,744.00
£25,881.00
£103,525.00


 Dumfries and Galloway
£94,600.00
£189,203.00
£94,600.00
£378,403.00


 Dundee
£123,320.00
£246,258.00
£123,159.00
£492,737.00


 East Ayrshire
£81,200.00
£162,442.00
£81,214.00
£324,856.00


 East Dunbartonshire
£22,800.00
£45,432.00
£22,758.00
£90,990.00


 East Lothian
£43,300.00
£86,552.00
£43,284.00
£173,136.00


 East Renfrewshire
£14,726.00
£29,451.00
£14,726.00
£58,903.00


 Edinburgh
£35,750.00
£769,047.00
£403,603.00
£1,208,400.00


 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
£11,200.00
£22,268.00
£11,156.00
£44,624.00


 Falkirk
£80,300.00
£160,664.00
£80,321.00
£321,285.00


 Fife
£164,200.00
£328,437.00
£164,212.00
£656,849.00


 Glasgow
£679,200.00
£1,358,283.00
£679,161.00
£2,716,644.00


 Highland
£99,500.00
£199,027.00
£99,509.00
£398,036.00


 Inverclyde
£37,000.00
£37,074.00
£74,074.00
£148,148.00


 Midlothian
£58,500.00
£116,868.00
£58,456.00
£233,824.00


 Moray
£44,600.00
£89,269.00
£44,623.00
£178,492.00


 North Ayrshire
£83,400.00
£167,935.00
£83,445.00
£334,780.00


 North Lanarkshire
£91,500.00
£182,941.00
£91,477.00
£365,918.00


 Orkney Islands
£4,500.00
£8,887.00
£4,462.00
£17,849.00


 Perth and Kinross
£45,500.00
£91,046.00
£45,515.00
£182,061.00


 Renfrewshire
£148,100.00
£296,244.00
£148,148.00
£592,492.00


 Scottish Borders
£55,800.00
£111,536.00
£55,779.00
£223,115.00


 Shetland Islands
£8,500.00
£16,935.00
£8,478.00
£33,913.00


 South Ayrshire
£52,200.00
£104,427.00
£52,209.00
£208,836.00


 South Lanarkshire
£87,500.00
£174,883.00
£87,461.00
£349,844.00


 Stirling
£45,500.00
£91,046.00
£45,515.00
£182,061.00


 West Dunbartonshire
£71,400.00
£142,790.00
£71,397.00
£285,587.00


 West Lothian
£96,800.00
£193,696.00
£96,832.00
£387,328.00


 Total
£2,733,796.00
£6,128,641.00
£3,138,540.00
£12,000,977.00



  Over 2006-7 a capital grant of £2 million was allocated to support foster carers and kinship carers.

  £2 Million Capital Fund to Support Foster Carers and Kinship Carers January to February 2007

  

 Local Authority
 


 Aberdeen 
 67,161


 Aberdeenshire 
 67,935


 Angus
 37,143


 Argyll and Bute
 29,177


 Clacks
 21,333


 Dumfries and Galloway
 47,893


 Dundee
 66,496


 East Ayrshire
 50,338


 East Dunbartonshire
 31,981


 East Lothian
 32,386


 East Renfrewshire
 28,120


 Edinburgh
 150,263


 Eilean Siar
 7,714


 Falkirk
 56,455


 Fife
 135,475


 Glasgow
 324,434


 Highland
 72,891


 Inverclyde
 38,917


 Midlothian
 32,233


 Moray
 26,818


 North Ayrshire
 63,949


 North Lanarkshire
 148,540


 Orkney
 5,200


 Perth and Kinross
 42,164


 Renfrewshire
 71,675


 Scottish Borders
 32,265


 Shetland
 6,872


 South Ayrshire
 38,695


 South Lanarkshire
 121,034


 Stirling
 29,631


 West Dunbartonshire
 46,143


 West Lothian
 68,669


 
 2,000,000

Health

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry scanning machines there are for detecting osteoporosis.

Shona Robison: At July 2007, there were 15 DEXA scanners in NHSScotland. All NHS boards have access to DEXA scanning.

Health

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria are applied to determine whether or not a patient will be referred for an osteoporosis scan.

Shona Robison: The criteria are set out in SIGN Guideline 71 on the management of osteoporosis.

Health

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to review the criteria used to determine referrals for osteoporosis scans.

Shona Robison: SIGN has consulted on the need to review the guideline on the management of osteoporosis (No 71) and agreed to a complete review of the guideline, encompassing new treatments, falls assessment and learning disabilities. This work will commence as part of the 2008-09 work programme, and is expected to take about 30 months.

Health

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what preventative measures are currently being taken with regard to osteoporosis.

Shona Robison: Our work on smoking, diet and exercise will help reduce the risk of people developing osteoporosis. The Scottish Medicines Consortium has also provided advice to NHSScotland on drug therapy for the primary and secondary prevention of osteoporosis.

  Falls and bone health also form one of the topics NHS boards can choose under the Scottish Enhanced Services Programme, to help improve such services locally. HDL(2007) 13 requires NHS boards to have a falls and prevention strategy linked operationally to bone health services. NHS QIS, NHS Health Scotland and NHS Education for Scotland are now putting in place a programme of work which will stress that bone health needs to be addressed in combination with prevention and management of falls.

Health

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that every NHS board provides timely treatment for age-related macular degeneration.

Shona Robison: The planning and provision of services is a matter for NHS boards. The Scottish Medicines Consortium has made recommendations regarding certain treatments for age-related macular degeneration. NHS boards are required to take full account of these recommendations in the planning and provision of NHS services.

Health

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the most recent (a) obesity and (b) smoking rates were in (i) the Dunfermline East parliamentary constituency, (ii) Fife and (iii) Scotland.

Shona Robison: (a) The most recent figures available on obesity are from the Scottish Health Survey 2003.

  (i) Figures on obesity at parliamentary constituency level are not available.

  (ii) Figures on obesity are not available at NHS board level, because the numbers in the sample are not sufficient to give meaningful results. However, figures on rates of overweight including obesity are available for adults.

  In NHS Fife area in 2003:

  

 
 Overweight or Obese
 Obese


 Women (16+ years)
 64.0%
 Not available


 Men (16+ years) 
 64.5%
 Not available



  (iii) In Scotland in 2003:

  

 
 Overweight or Obese
 Obese


 Women (16+ years)
 59.7%
 26.0%


 Men (16+ years) 
 65.4%
 22.4%


 Girls (2-15 years)
 30.0%
 13.8%


 Boys (2-15 years)
 34.6%
 18.0%



  (b) (i) Estimates of adult smoking prevalence at parliamentary constituency level are available from the Atlas of Tobacco Smoking in Scotland. In 2003-04, approximately 32% of adults (aged 16 years or more) in Dunfermline East parliamentary constituency area were smokers.

  (ii) The most recent figures available on adult smoking prevalence in NHS Fife area are from the Scottish Household Survey, using combined figures for 2005-06: 28% adults were smokers.

  (iii) The most recent national level figures available on adult smoking prevalence are from the Scottish Household Survey 2006: 25% adults were smokers.

  The most recent national figures on smoking prevalence amongst young people aged 13 and 15 years are from the Scottish Schools Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey 2006: 4% 13 year olds were regular smokers; 15% 15-year-olds were regular smokers in Scotland in 2006.

Health

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure that disabled people and elderly people have more access to hydrotherapy pools.

Shona Robison: NHS boards and their local partners are responsible for the provision of facilities such as hydrotherapy pools, based on their assessment of local needs.

Health

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Joint Futures agenda is to continue and, if so, which (a) local authority areas, (b) NHS boards and (c) local authority services are currently managed under Joint Futures arrangements and in which additional areas it is proposed to implement the agenda and in what timescale.

Shona Robison: Joint Future is the headline policy on joint working between the NHS and local authorities. It applies to all their community care services for adults, and each local partnership has implemented it since 2003. It is a progressive policy: its focus has recently shifted to outcomes-led performance. We expect it to continue as part of the Scottish Government’s approach to outcomes generally. We have no plans to extend its application: its principles are already used in areas such as children’s services.

Historic Buildings

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact Historic Scotland’s listing of buildings at the former Royal Navy base at Port Edgar will have on plans for the new Forth crossing at Queensferry.

Linda Fabiani: The barrack buildings at Port Edgar form a remarkably complete survival of a First World War Grand Fleet base. No other Grand Fleet base is known to have survived in such an intact condition in the UK. It has considerable historical interest for its former use as a Royal Naval base for the servicing of Torpedo Boat Destroyers in the First World War and as a Minesweeping base in the Second World War. The buildings include officers’ ward block, guard room and cell block, air raid shelter, boiler house, recreation rooms and stores.

  The purpose of listing is to identify the special interest of the building(s) to inform any future consideration of change. It will be for Transport Scotland to explore designs for the new crossing of the Forth, and establish whether a design can be adopted that would allow the buildings in question to remain. If that is not possible, they will need to provide the information and justification for a case for the demolition of the listed buildings to be considered, following the guidance set out in the Memorandum of Guidance on listed buildings and conservation areas (1998).

Housing

Jamie Hepburn (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether local authorities and registered social landlords have a statutory requirement to inform their tenants of any structural faults found in their properties and, if so, what legislation establishes this responsibility and from what date the requirement has existed.

Stewart Maxwell: Section 14 of the Housing Defects Act 1984 contained such a requirement. The Act was subsequently repealed and this provision was consolidated into Part XIV of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987, which remains in force.

  The requirement is that a public sector authority as defined in the act (which includes councils and registered social landlords), before selling a dwelling designated as defective under the act, must notify the purchaser in writing of the defect giving rise to the designation and that the purchaser is not eligible for any assistance under that part of the act. Notification has to be given before the sale is concluded.

  In addition, section 27 and schedule 4 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 require the landlord in a Scottish Secure Tenancy (SST) to notify the tenant before the start of the tenancy of any work required to make the house wind and watertight and in all other respects reasonably fit for human habitation. SSTs were introduced on 30 September 2002.

  There is no other statutory obligation on local authorities or registered social landlords to inform their tenants of the existence of any structural defects in their property.

Human Trafficking

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when ministers last met UK ministers to discuss tackling human trafficking and the global sex trade.

Kenny MacAskill: Scottish ministers are represented on the UK Interdepartmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking, which last met on 24 January 2008.

  I last met UK ministers specifically to discuss this issue on 19 July 2007, and a further meeting is being arranged.

Human Trafficking

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when officials last met UK Government officials to discuss tackling human trafficking and the global sex trade.

Kenny MacAskill: Scottish Government officials last met with their counterparts in the UK Government on 15 and 24 January 2008 to discuss tackling human trafficking, and are in regular contact.

Human Trafficking

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what organisations ministers have met to discuss human trafficking and the efforts to help the victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation in Scotland.

Kenny MacAskill: Scottish ministers have not received any requests from organisations to meet with them to discuss human trafficking.

Interception of Communications

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many requests for warrants for interception of communications for the purpose of detecting or preventing serious crime were received by Scottish ministers under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 in each of the last three years.

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many warrants for interception of communications for the purpose of detecting or preventing serious crime were refused by Scottish ministers under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 in each of the last three years.

Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government does not collect this information.

Interception of Communications

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many warrants for interception of communications for the purpose of detecting or preventing serious crime were authorised by Scottish ministers under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 in each of the last three years.

Kenny MacAskill: Details of the number of interception warrants issued by the Scottish ministers are contained in the Interception of Communications Commissioner’s annual reports, which are laid before this Parliament. The most recent annual report (for 2006) was laid before Parliament on 28 January 2008 and is available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 44564).

  The Bib. numbers for the two reports prior to this are 41926 and 37809.

Interception of Communications

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many appeals were made against decisions by Scottish ministers in respect of authorisation of warrants for interception of communication for the purpose of detecting or preventing serious crime in each of the last three years and how many such appeals were upheld.

Kenny MacAskill: Individuals who suspect that their communications may have been intercepted have a right of complaint to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal. Details of the number of complaints considered across the United Kingdom are contained in the Interception of Communications Commissioner’s Report which is available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. The Bib. numbers for the three most recent reports are 44564, 41926 and 37809.

Justice

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases have been referred to the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission in each year since its inception; of these how many (a) have been the subject of a full-scale review, (b) have resulted in referrals back to the courts, (c) have been dismissed, (d) have taken over (i) 6, (ii) 12, (iii) 24 and (iv) 36 months to reach a decision and (e) are currently under consideration by the commission.

Kenny MacAskill: The information requested is provided in the attached table.

  

 
1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04


Cases Received
130
89
88
95
98


(a): Concluded after full review
16
48
80
91
111


(b): Referrals
2
7
8
12
5


(c): Dismissed*
0
20
12
13
29


(d): decision within 6 months**
-
-
-
-
-


(d): decision over 6 months
-
-
-
-
-


(d): decision over 12 months
-
-
-
-
-


(d): decision over 24 months
-
-
-
-
-


(d): decision over 36 months
-
-
-
-
-


(e): Under Review
-
-
-
-
-



  

 
 2004-05
 2005-06
 2006-07
 2007-08


 Cases Received
 118
 165
 104
 83


 (a): Concluded after full review
 105
 101
 104
 63


 (b): Referrals
 13
 10
 10
 8


 (c): Dismissed*
 25
 45
 41
 23


 (d): decision within 6 months**
 48
 58
 33
 48


 (d): decision over 6 months
 48
 36
 62
 26


 (d): decision over 12 months
 7
 7
 6
 9


 (d): decision over 24 months
 0
 0
 2
 2


 (d): decision over 36 months
 2
 0
 1
 1


 (e): Under Review
 -
 -
 -
 55



  Note: *Dismissed cases are those rejected at the outset and not subject to full review.

  Information on the time taken to reach a decision on a case is can be extracted from the case management system operated by the SCCRC only from 2004-05 onwards.

Justice

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many officers employed by Strathclyde Police and deployed in the North Lanarkshire division are projected to retire during the next four years.

Kenny MacAskill: This information is not held centrally.

Justice

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to legislating for a change in the age of criminal responsibility.

Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government’s position is set out in paragraphs 560 to 623 of A Report on Implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in Scotland , published in August 2007 and available on the Scottish Government website at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/07/30114126/0 .

Justice

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were successfully prosecuted in 2007 for cruelty to (a) dogs and (b) cats.

Kenny MacAskill: In 2005-06, the latest year for which figures are available, there were 46 persons with a charge proved for the offence of cruelty to animals, where this was the main offence recorded. It is not possible to identify cats or dogs from other types of animals in this offence.

Justice

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of Not Seen. Not Heard. Not Guilty: The Rights and Status of the Children of Prisoners in Scotland by the Commissioner for Children and Young People in Scotland, how it will ensure that courts fully take into account the rights of children when sentencing and that appropriate community alternatives are properly considered.

Kenny MacAskill: Decisions on sentencing are entirely a matter for the sentencing judge, who hears all the facts and circumstances surrounding the offence and the offender, and is able to take into account any factors which he or she considers to be relevant.

  Background reports (Social Enquiry Reports) provided by local authority Social Work Departments before sentence are a key source of information for the courts. These reports provide information on a range of issues, including the offender’s current circumstances and the appropriateness of the range of potential disposals available to the sentencing judge.

  The Scottish Government fully supports the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and is undertaking a number of activities to promote the Convention in Scotland.

Justice

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of Not Seen. Not Heard. Not Guilty: The Rights and Status of the Children of Prisoners in Scotland by the Commissioner for Children and Young People in Scotland, what plans it has to ensure better support for the estimated 13,500 children affected by the imprisonment of a parent every year.

Adam Ingram: The Scottish Government and its related agency, the Scottish Prison Service, provides financial support to Families Outside, a Scottish charity which helps families each year through the Scottish Prisoner’s Family Helpline. Through research, training and partnership work, Families Outside aims to raise awareness of the needs of families affected by imprisonment so that they can get the information and support they need to cope.

Justice

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of Not Seen. Not Heard. Not Guilty: The Rights and Status of the Children of Prisoners in Scotland by the Commissioner for Children and Young People in Scotland, how it intends to ensure that child care responsibilities are not a barrier to an individual undertaking community service as an alternative to prison.

Kenny MacAskill: In preparing a Social Enquiry Report for the court, the existing National Objectives and Standards for Criminal Justice Social Work require the report writer to consider the suitability of the full range of community disposals in making recommendations to the court, having regard to an individual domestic circumstances and commitments. Where the court subsequently decides to impose a Community Service Order the Standards require scheme managers to give particular attention to "ensuring the availability of suitable placements for offenders with particular domestic or child care responsibilities".

Justice

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many offences took place in Scotland in (a) 2003, (b) 2004, (c) 2005, (d) 2006 and (e) 2007 involving cash and valuables in transit, broken down by (i) type of offence and (ii) local authority area.

Kenny MacAskill: This information is not held centrally.

Justice

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that offences against cash and valuables in transit workers are comprehensively recorded and classified.

Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Financial Crime Group (SFCG) monitors offences against and cash and valuables in transit workers through the British Security Industry Association. They pay particular attention to any migration/displacement of such crimes and any local and regional increases in Scotland. Prevention is the primary focus of its work.

  The SFCG brings together specialist investigators from the Scottish Police Service, with their counterparts within the Scottish banking industry and the wider financial sector, to monitor developing crime trends and implement specialist tactics to disrupt criminal activity and protect financial institutions and their customers.

Justice

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with trades unions representing cash and valuables in transit workers about reducing the number of offences committed against drivers and operatives.

Kenny MacAskill: The Minister for Police and Community Safety wrote to GMB Scotland on 7 February encouraging them to discuss their concerns through the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland Cash-in Transit Working Group.

Justice

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with local authorities about reducing cash and valuables in transit offences.

Kenny MacAskill: No such discussions with local authorities have taken place. However, we have recently announced a three year funding package of £778,000 for the Scottish Business Crime Centre (SBCC). The SBCC provide practical advice to the business/commercial sectors on how to develop business crime reduction and prevention strategies. The SBCC deals with Cash in Transit (CIT) issues through the Scottish Financial Crime Group (SFCG) and Scottish Commercial Crime Group (SCCG). While no direct discussions have taken place with local authorities, member police forces deal with local authorities on CIT issues, together with wider aspects of crime prevention, through work carried out by architectural liaison officers (ALOs). Engagement at local and regional levels has led to Crime Prevention through Environmental Design being incorporated as a central strand of City Plans, for example, Glasgow City Plan 2.

Justice

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has held with the banking industry about reducing cash and valuables in transit offences.

Kenny MacAskill: No discussions with the banking industry have taken place. However, we have recently announced a three year funding package of £778,000 for the Scottish Business Crime Centre (SBCC). The SBCC provide practical advice to the business/commercial sectors on how to develop business crime reduction and prevention strategies. Through two groups managed by the SBCC (the Scottish Financial Crime Group and the Scottish Commercial Crime Group) the Scottish Banking Industry liaises with the Scottish Police Service and the Cash in Transit (CIT) Industry. The CIT industry is represented by the British Security Industry Association (BSIA), which is also a member of the SBCC. CIT access issues discussed at SFCG can then be fed into local policing procedures where appropriate. In addition, in March 2007, the Scottish Financial Crime Group ran Exercise Fecund, a table top exercise examining a "tiger kidnap" scenario within the financial sector. The seminar involved over 300 delegates from law enforcement, banks and the CIT industry.

Justice

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken by police forces specifically to reduce the incidence of offences against cash and valuables in transit workers.

Kenny MacAskill: This is an operational matter for relevant chief constables.

Justice

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to ensure consistency of approach by police forces and the sharing of best practice in tackling offences against cash and valuables in transit workers in different parts of Scotland.

Kenny MacAskill: There are agreed procedures throughout all Scottish police forces in respect of police action when dealing with vehicles carrying high-risk loads.

  The Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) chairs a Scottish cash-in transit working group which meets quarterly to address relevant issues, highlight good practice, and to provide support to organisations within the sector. A number of security carriers are represented on the group. The group reports back to ACPOS any relevant issues which require to be addressed on a national basis.

  One of the issues presently being addressed through this working group is parking of security vehicles within town and city centres, and the parking tickets and subsequent fines issued. Research is currently being carried out on a national basis to discover the different local authority/council positions on this. It is hoped that following consultation a common sense approach can be developed.

  The working group also addresses issues such as CCTV installation, removing obstacles etc, with the intention of ensuring the safety of cash-in transit couriers across Scotland.

Justice

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it provides local authorities on the safe accessing of pedestrianised areas by cash and valuables in transit workers.

Kenny MacAskill: We do not provide guidance to local authorities on this issue as it is an operational matter for the Police. However, we have recently announced a three year funding package of £778,000 for the Scottish Business Crime Centre (SBCC). The SBCC provide practical advice to the business/commercial sectors on how to develop business crime reduction and prevention strategies.

Justice

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action has been taken to "design out" crimes against cash and valuables in transit workers through the planning system and, in particular, in respect of access, parking, safer routes, safe docking systems and secure areas.

Kenny MacAskill: We have recently announced a three year funding package of £778,000 for the Scottish Business Crime Centre (SBCC). The SBCC provide practical advice to the business/commercial sectors on how to develop business crime reduction and prevention strategies.

  Much of the input regarding access, particularly within City and Town centres, is incorporated within the master planning process, to which Police Architectural Liaison Officers (ALO’s) have input. However, the issue of controlled access is also being incorporated within the ALO Secure By Design (SBD) Public Realm accreditation toolkit, standards which have been developed by The Association of Chief Police Officers Crime Prevention Initiative. The toolkit will be rolled out throughout Scotland. The Scottish SBD Officer is based within the SBCC.

  In addition, Scottish Policing has provided input to a review of the Scottish Building Standards Regulations, where the concept of "designing out crime" was raised, particularly in relation to its status within planning process. This review is on-going.

  Finally, access requirements for Cash in Transit vehicles must now also be balanced with more general vehicle restrictions which are a requirement of the Protect and Prepare elements of the CONTEST anti-terrorism strategy.

Justice

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken to emulate the reduction of offences against cash and valuables in transit workers in parts of England, such as Birmingham, through work undertaken by cash couriers, the banking industry, the GMB trades union, the Home Office, the Department for Transport and the Association of Chief Police Officers, in consultation with local government and other interested parties.

Kenny MacAskill: We have recently announced a three year funding package of £778,000 for the Scottish Business Crime Centre (SBCC). The SBCC provide practical advice to the business/commercial sectors on how to develop business crime reduction and prevention strategies. Through 2 groups managed by the SBCC (the Scottish Financial Crime Group and the Scottish Commercial Crime Group) the Scottish Banking Industry liaises with the Scottish Police Service and the Cash in Transit (CIT) Industry. The CIT industry is represented by the British Security Industry Association (BSIA), which is also a member of the SBCC.Prevention is very much the primary focus of the work of the SBCC.

Justice

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many summary custody trials have been held in sheriff courts in each month from April 2006 to date.

Mr Kenny MacAskill: Information for all sheriff courts is only available from May 2007 onwards and is shown in the following table:

  Number of Custody Trials with Evidence Led

  

 Month
 


 May 2007
 205


 June 2007
 218


 July 2007
 167


 August 2007
 236


 September 2007
 234


 October 2007
 232


 November 2007
 231


 December 2007
 234


 January 2008
 281



  Note: Trials "held" has been interpreted as trials in which evidence was led.

Justice

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many unconvicted persons have been refused bail at first appearance on complaint or on petition since 10 December 2007 where the procurator fiscal has not opposed the grant of bail.

Kenny MacAskill: This information is not held centrally.

Justice

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many motorists in (a) Grampian and (b) Tayside were caught speeding in (i) 2003, (ii) 2004, (iii) 2005, (iv) 2006 and (v) 2007.

Kenny MacAskill: The number of recorded crimes of speeding by police force area is included in table 4a of the Recorded Crime in Scotland statistical bulletin, copies of which are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (2003 – Bib. number 33018, 2004-05 – Bib. number 37835, 2005-06 – Bib. number 40365, 2006-07 – Bib. number 43510).

Justice

Willie Coffey (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any powers to direct procurators fiscal to provide victims of crime with a written explanation of their decisions in respect of cases referred to them.

Kenny MacAskill: No. Section 48(5) of the Scotland Act 1998 enshrines the independence of the prosecution system in Scotland by providing that any decision of the Lord Advocate in his or her capacity as head of the systems of criminal prosecution and investigation of deaths in Scotland shall continue to be taken by him or her independently of any other person.

  However, in February 2005 the Lord Advocate announced that, wherever possible, victims and next of kin who request it will be provided with an explanation for any decision to mark a case "no proceedings" or, in cases in which proceedings have commenced, a decision to discontinue proceedings or to accept a plea to reduce a charge.

Justice

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many attacks were recorded on (a) firemen, (b) police officers and (c) hospital staff in the Lothians region, broken down by parliamentary constituency, in each year for which the information is available.

Kenny MacAskill: The police recorded crime statistics collected centrally are based on an aggregate return at local authority level, and do not distinguish the circumstances of the crime, such as the occupation of the victim. Following the introduction of the Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act in 2005, a new crime code (Minor Assault of an Emergency Worker) was created. However the figures cannot be broken down by category of worker.

Justice

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what statistics it has for the number of people carrying knives in the Lothians region, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

Fergus Ewing: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-8808 on 4 February 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Licensing

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is provision under the Licensing (Fees) (Scotland) Regulations 2007 (SSI 2007/553) to enable licensed premises that share a site with other licensed premises to pay each premise’s licence fee on the basis of a proportion of the rateable value of the entire site.

Kenny MacAskill: The Licensing (Fees) (Scotland) Regulations 2007 state that the fee payable must be based on the rateable value shown on the valuation roll.

Licensing

Keith Brown (Ochil) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is in respect of the Scottish Beer and Pub Association’s submission to the consultation on licensing fees related to the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 that the fee structure should be reviewed in 2010.

Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government plans to ask the Accounts Commission to review the operation of the fee system introduced by the Licensing (Fees) (Scotland) Regulations 2007 after the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 comes fully into force in September 2009.

Licensing

Keith Brown (Ochil) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the reasons are for the current levels of licensing fees, in light of submissions to the consultation on licensing fees related to the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 from the Federation of Small Businesses and the Scottish Grocers’ Federation arguing for greater progressivity, especially at the higher end of the rateable values’ scale.

Kenny MacAskill: The Licensing (Fees) (Scotland) Regulations 2007 provide for various fees to be charged by licensing boards. They were discussed in detail by the Justice Committee.

  The premises licence application fee and annual fee are set by licensing boards within the parameters set by the regulations. Premises will fall into one of 6 fee bands according to the rateable value of the premises. These bands were recommended in an independent research report and were the subject of consultation. Although some organisations requested higher bandings into which their competitors would fall, the fee system is about the cost of administering the licensing system, including the cost of processing applications and not about linking the fee to the volume of alcohol a premises sells. The fee structure in the 2007 Regulations is more progressive than the current arrangement under the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976, where there is a flat fee for all applications.

Licensing

Keith Brown (Ochil) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has discussed alcohol licensing fees at meetings with the Federation of Small Businesses or the Scottish Grocers’ Federation.

Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government has an ongoing dialogue and constructive relationship with the Scottish Grocers’ Federation. Fees have been discussed as part of discussions on various licensing matters. No meetings have taken place with the Federation of Small Business on licensing fees although the FSB did submit a response to our consultation on the issue.

Maternity Services

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to update the framework governing the provision of maternity services in Scotland.

Shona Robison: The Maternity Services Action Group is currently reviewing and updating the national maternity policy set out in The Framework for Maternity Services (2001) and the subsequent Expert Group on Acute Maternity Services (2002). We remain committed to the provision of women and family-centred services within a network of care, with the bulk of that care being offered as locally as possible by clinically competent professionals.

Maternity Services

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of women who gave birth in each of the last five years received all nine of the routine care antenatal appointments set out in A Framework for maternity services in Scotland , broken down by NHS board.

Shona Robison: The information requested is not centrally available.

  The NHS QIS Maternity Standards also include a standard that relates to the number and scheduling of antenatal clinic appointments that should be offered. At an organisational level, NHS boards have been audited against these standards, the reports were published in 2007 and are on the QIS website.

Maternity Services

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are currently in place to ensure that women have continuous risk assessment throughout pregnancy, as set out in A Framework for maternity services in Scotland .

Shona Robison: The antenatal care that a woman receives in accordance to A Framework for maternity services in Scotland, is supported by the report of the Expert Group on Acute Maternity Services (EGAMS) 2002, which outlines principles, national guidelines and local action that boards will consider within their own local maternity strategies, to ensure each woman is cared for in a clinically effective, multi-professional, evidence based network of care, before, during and after childbirth.

  NHS QIS has produced maternity care standards against which all NHS maternity services in Scotland are audited.

  The Maternity Services Action Group will also consider NHS board maternity strategies to ensure that they are in line with national guidelines.

  Good history taking, communication between professionals and women and their families, and dynamic risk management throughout pregnancy ensure that each woman is cared for, according to her individual needs.

  The "booking assessment" is the starting point at which a woman is assessed and level of risk determined to plan for her future care. Each further contact with a health professional is an opportunity to re-assess the current health and situation of the pregnant woman, altering the level of care to meet her individual needs, which will be managed under local guidelines and referral arrangements.

Maternity Services

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are currently in place to identify women with current and on-going health conditions likely to impact on the outcome of their pregnancy, as set out in A Framework for maternity services in Scotland .

Shona Robison: The antenatal care that a woman receives in accordance to the Framework for maternity services in Scotland, is supported by the report of the Expert Group on Acute Maternity Services (EGAMS) 2002, which outlines principles, guidelines and local action that boards will consider within their own local maternity strategies, to ensure each woman is cared for in a clinically effective, multi-professional, evidence based network of care, before, during and after childbirth.

  NHS QIS has produced maternity care standards against which all NHS maternity services in Scotland are audited.

  The Maternity Services Action Group will also consider NHS board maternity strategies to ensure that they are in line with national guidelines.

  The "booking assessment" is the starting point at which women are assessed and their level of risk determined to plan for their future care. Each further contact with a health professional is an opportunity to assess her current health and situation, and thus her current risk of future complications. If her situation changes, then care will be altered to meet her needs, which will be manage under local guidelines and referral arrangements.

Mental Health

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many and what proportion of female prisoners have been recognised as having mental health problems on admission to prison in each of the last five years.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  This information is not available because of the difficulties of precise definition in this complex field. However, proxy prescribing indicators do suggest a significant issue across the prison population as a whole. Further information is available in www.sps.gov.uk/MultimediaGallery/363852d6-79d1-464c-9b65-857721c2a628.pdf.

Mental Health

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it will spend on mental health rehabilitation in each year from 2008 to 2011, also showing in percentage real terms how these figures compare with 2007 spend.

Shona Robison: Spend on mental health services is drawn from the record funds allocated to NHS boards and local government. Expenditure on rehabilitation will be included within these resources but not separately identified.

  Record funding included within the Scottish Government Budget to 2010-11 will ensure continuity of approach and investment on mental health and other priorities by NHS boards, local authorities and other partners recognising the Scottish Government’s key strategic objectives and commitments. Those targets now include four HEAT targets for change and improvement in mental health focussed on dementia care; increased suicide prevention training, and reductions in hospital readmissions; levels of antidepressant prescribing and suicides.

Mortality

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many deaths in (a) NHS Grampian and (b) NHS Tayside hospitals from 1999 to 2007 were alcohol-related and, of these, how many were individuals aged (i) under 18, (ii) 18 to 29, (iii) 30 to 55 and (iv) over 55.

Shona Robison: The information requested is given in the following tables for 1999 to 2006. It uses a definition of alcohol-related deaths agreed with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in 2006 following wide consultation. Figures only include cases where the selected causes were the main cause of death. Figures for 2007 will be available in August 2008.

  (a) Alcohol-Related Deaths 1 in NHS Grampian Hospitals, 1999-2006

  

 Year
 
 Age Group


 All ages
 Under 18
 18-29
 30-55
 over 55


 1999
 47
 -
 -
 19
 28


 2000
 49
 -
 -
 17
 32


 2001
 55
 -
 -
 22
 33


 2002
 43
 -
 -
 20
 23


 2003
 56
 -
 -
 24
 32


 2004
 59
 -
 -
 24
 35


 2005
 53
 -
 -
 21
 32


 2006
 47
 -
 -
 16
 31



  (b) Alcohol-Related Deaths 1 in NHS Tayside Hospitals, 1999-2006

  

 Year
 All Ages
 Age Group


 Under 18
 18-29
 30-55
 over 55


 1999
 40
 
 -
 22
 18


 2000
 46
 
 1
 19
 26


 2001
 51
 
 1
 29
 21


 2002
 62
 
 1
 23
 38


 2003
 74
 
 1
 26
 47


 2004
 60
 
 1
 27
 32


 2005
 58
 
 2
 22
 34


 2006
 62
 
 -
 24
 38



  Source: General Register Office for Scotland.

  Note: 1. 1996-99: ICD9 codes: 291, 303, 305.0, 425.5, 571.0-571.5, 571.8-571.9, E860 2000-06: ICD10 codes: F10, G31.2, G62.1, I42.6, K29.2, K70, K73, K74 (excl. K74.3-K74.5), K86.0, X45, X65, Y15.

Mortality

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many deaths in (a) NHS Grampian and (b) NHS Tayside hospitals from 1999 to 2007 were drug-related and, of these, how many were individuals aged (i) under 18, (ii) 18 to 29, (iii) 30 to 55 and (iv) over 55.

Shona Robison: The information requested is given in the following tables for 1999 to 2006. The definition of drug-related deaths which was used to produce these figures is described in an annual paper entitled "Drug-related Deaths in Scotland", which can be found on the website of the General Register Office for Scotland, at:

  http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/publications-and-data/drug-related-deaths/drug-related-deaths-in-scotland-2006/index.html.

  Figures for 2007 will be available in August 2008.

  Drug-Related Deaths in NHS Grampian Hospitals, 1999-2006

  

 Year
 All Ages
 Age Group


 Under 18
 18-29
 30-55
 over 55


 1999
 6
 -
 1
 5
 -


 2000
 2
 -
 -
 2
 -


 2001
 11
 1
 5
 5
 -


 2002
 1
 -
 1
 -
 -


 2003
 1
 -
 -
 1
 -


 2004
 5
 -
 3
 2
 -


 2005
 2
 -
 -
 2
 -


 2006
 3
 -
 2
 1
 -



  Drug-Related Deaths in NHS Tayside Hospitals, 1999-2006

  

 Year
 
 Age Group


 All Ages
 Under 18
 18-29
 30-55
 over 55


 1999
 2
 -
 -
 2
 -


 2000
 3
 -
 -
 2
 1


 2001
 4
 1
 -
 2
 1


 2002
 4
 -
 1
 3
 -


 2003
 2
 -
 1
 1
 -


 2004
 4
 -
 2
 1
 1


 2005
 2
 -
 -
 2
 -


 2006
 5
 -
 3
 2
 -



  Source: General Register Office for Scotland.

NHS Equipment

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the most recent figures are for wheelchair provision for children in (a) the Dunfermline East parliamentary constituency, (b) Fife and (c) Scotland.

Shona Robison: This information is not held centrally. It is for NHS boards to commission and provide services, including wheelchair and seating services for children, that best meet the needs of their local communities.

Ophthalmic Services

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that parents understand the importance of eye examinations for children.

Shona Robison: A leaflet to help raise awareness of free NHS eye examinations in Scotland was issued in October 2007. Supplies of the leaflet were issued to GP and optical practices and also to Community Health Partnerships to target distribution appropriately in their area.

  In addition, as part of the on-going child surveillance programme for 0 to five-year-olds parents will have opportunities to discuss visual acuity with a healthcare professional. If required referral will be made to the appropriate clinician. Similarly, if a child has a visual problem detected in school, a referral will be made.

Parkinson's Disease

Kenneth Gibson (Cunninghame North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients suffered from idiopathic Parkinson’s disease in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by NHS board.

Shona Robison: The exact number of people diagnosed with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease in Scotland is not available centrally.

  An estimate, based on the numbers consulting a member of their practice team for the conditions in practices participating in Practice Team Information (PTI) suggests there may be 4,800 people idiopathic Parkinson’s disease in Scotland. Estimates cannot be provided at NHS board level, as the PTI practice sample is not representative at board level.

Parkinson's Disease

Kenneth Gibson (Cunninghame North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the the SIGN guidelines for Parkinson’s disease will incorporate treatments such as continuous dopamine stimulation and deep brain stimulation in complex and advanced stage Parkinson’s disease treatments.

Shona Robison: The SIGN Guideline remit is the diagnosis and pharmaceutical management of Parkinson’s disease. SIGN will therefore not be considering deep brain stimulation for inclusion. As a neurosurgical intervention, it falls outwith the remit for the guideline.

  If there is sufficient evidence of sufficient quality to permit comment, the topic of treatments which simulate natural dopamine release may be included in the final guideline.

People with Disabilities

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to develop health promotion initiatives for people with physical disabilities.

Shona Robison: All NHS boards are expected to design and deliver health improvement activities which meet the needs of all in their local population and reduce inequalities in health.

  The Fair for All programme of work and the Equality and Diversity Impact Assessment Toolkit for NHS boards provide a framework to support the NHS in meeting statutory and policy requirements. The Scottish Government is committed to continuing and further developing its Fair for All approach across NHS Scotland, and to impact assessing all new health and wellbeing policies to ensure that they promote equality and diversity.

  A Directorate of Equalities and Planning will be established in Health Scotland by April 2008 to build on Fair for All and support NHS boards deliver equality and tackle discrimination in the delivery of health services, considering the specific needs of all people, including people with physical disabilities, in providing health services.

Police

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many mental health patients have been reported missing to the police, broken down by psychiatric hospital and unit, in each of the last five years.

Shona Robison: This information is not held centrally and we seek to avoid ad hoc information gathering exercises. However, we are aware that some individual police forces do collate this information.

Police

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether recent discussions have taken place with representatives of police authorities, chief constables and the armed services anent the recruitment of ex-service personnel to Scottish police forces.

Kenny MacAskill: No discussions have taken place. It is for individual police forces to assess the suitability of potential recruits against a range of factors which includes skills, physical fitness and previous work experience.

Police

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many officers are employed by Strathclyde Police and deployed in the North Lanarkshire division.

Kenny MacAskill: The operational deployment of resources is a matter for chief constables, and no information is held centrally on the number of officers deployed in specific local authority areas.

  Figures on the number of police officers employed in Strathclyde as a whole are given in the Police Quarterly Strength Return, copies of which are held in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 43307).

Police

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many additional officers will be recruited by Strathclyde Police for deployment in the North Lanarkshire division in 2008-09 and over the third session of the Parliament.

Kenny MacAskill: The operational deployment of resources is a matter for chief constables, and no information is held centrally on the number of officers deployed in specific local authority areas.

Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-8918 by Kenny MacAskill on 4 February 2008, what sanctions are in place for police forces that fail to meet their obligations to investigate criminality related to breaches of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, under section 17(1)(b).

Kenny MacAskill: Failure by an officer to fulfil their duties will be dealt with through the conduct and discipline procedures already in place within the Scottish police service.

  There are also service complaints which are complaints about the service/policies of the force rather than about the conduct of individual (or group of) staff.

  If these procedures reveal any evidence of criminality in investigations, this will be referred to the Procurator Fiscal.

Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-8918 by Kenny MacAskill on 4 February 2008, what discussions it has had with the Chief Constable of Strathclyde Police regarding initiating investigations of criminality related to breaches of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, under section 17(1)(b).

Kenny MacAskill: Investigations of alleged criminality are operational matters for the police to undertake in accordance with appropriate guidance from the Lord Advocate.

Pre-School Education

Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many vacant local authority-run nursery places there are in Glasgow.

Adam Ingram: This information is not held centrally.

Pre-School Education

Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all parents are entitled to receive funding towards their children’s nursery education.

Adam Ingram: All children are eligible to receive 475 hours of free, pre-school education per year from approximately the term following their third birthday until the end of the term immediately before they are first eligible to attend primary school.

  The duty to provide pre-school education lies with local authorities. It can be delivered in a local authority centre or school or in settings in the private, independent and voluntary sectors which are in partnership with the local authority.

Prescription Charges

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of the poorest 20% of the population will benefit from the removal of prescription charges.

Shona Robison: The information requested is not available.

  We regard prescription charges as a tax on ill health. The removal of prescription charges will end the unfair system and bring equity for all Scots.

Prescriptions

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prescriptions of (a) benzodiazepines and (b) antidepressants were dispensed in each of the last three years.

Shona Robison: The table shows the number of prescribed items for benzodiazepines and antidepressants dispensed in the last three financial years in the community by community pharmacists and dispensing doctors. These data do not include medicines dispensed by hospitals or hospital-based clinics, or private prescriptions.

  

 Financial Year
 Benzodiazepines
 Antidepressants


 2004-05
 1,651,960
 3,478,081


 2005-06
 1,640,109
 3,529,609


 2006-07
 1,643,151
 3,653,694



  The information in the table has been provided by NHS National Services Scotland.

Prescriptions

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children suffering from total hair loss were prescribed (a) real hair wigs and (b) acrylic wigs in each of the last three years.

Shona Robison: This information is not held centrally. It is for NHS boards to commission and provide services, including the provision of wigs for children, which best meet the needs of their local communities. However, procedures are to be introduced to ensure more accurate data collection mechanisms within NHSScotland in order to be able to provide such information in the future.

Prescriptions

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many women suffering from total hair loss were prescribed (a) real hair wigs and (b) acrylic wigs in each of the last three years.

Shona Robison: This information is not held centrally. I refer the member to the question S3W-10047, answered on 29 February 2008, in particular with regard to the future monitoring of such data. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Prescriptions

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it plans to take to ensure that providers and patients are informed of any new lower charges for wigs, hair units and other non-pharmacy items resulting from reductions in the prescription charges for such items.

Shona Robison: A circular to accompany the new NHS (Charges for Drugs and Appliances) (Scotland) Regulations 2008, which will apply from 1 April 2008, will be distributed to the NHS. It will advise staff on any appropriate reduction in costs, for wigs, and other non-pharmacy items in line with revised prescription charges and we will continue to work closely with stakeholders as necessary to ensure that information is disseminated appropriately.

Prison Service

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many and what proportion of female prisoners have tested positive for drugs on admission to prison in each of the last five years.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  Statistical information on positive drug tests of prisoners is not available by gender. However, it is available by establishment and the vast majority of female prisoners are held at HM Prison and Institution, Cornton Vale.

  Table A provides information on the percentage of positive drugs tests at Cornton Vale under random mandatory drug testing arrangements (MDT) for the years 2002-03 to 2004-05.

  MDT was replaced by an Addictions Testing Measure (ATP) in 2005, and table B provides the percentage of positive tests at Cornton Vale under ATP for the years 2005-06 and 2006-07.

  Table A

  

 Year
 % of Positive Tests


 2002-03
 12


 2003-04
 32


 2004-05
 33



  Table B

  

 Year
 % of Positive Tests


 2005-06
 52


 2006-07
 49



  Information on drug misuse and treatment in Scottish Prisons is published annually in Drug Misuse Statistics Scotland, a National Statistics release of the Information Statistics Division, NHS National Services Scotland.

Prison Service

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what effect overcrowding in prisons is having on the length of prison sentences passed in court.

Kenny MacAskill: Decisions on the length of a prison sentence are a matter for the court in each individual case. Parliament sets a framework of sentencing options and judges work within this to decide on the most appropriate sentence to suit the seriousness of the offence and situation of the offender who committed it. The judge hears all the facts and circumstances surrounding the case, and is able to take into account any factors which he or she considers to be relevant. We are not aware of any empirical evidence of an effect of the prison population on the length of custodial sentences.

Prison Service

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how long each prison governor was in charge of each Scottish Prison Service establishment in the last 10 years.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The length of time, expressed as years in post, for each Governor in charge of each current Prison Service Establishment in the last 10 years is as follows:

  

 Establishment
 Gov 1
 Gov 2
 Gov 3
 Gov 4
 Gov 5
 Gov 6
 Gov 7


 Aberdeen
 3
 6
 1 to date
 
 
 
 


 Barlinnie
 4
 6 to date
 
 
 
 
 


 Cornton Vale
 3
 1
 4
 2 to date
 
 
 


 Dumfries
 1
 6
 2
 1 to date
 
 
 


 Edinburgh
 2
 2
 4
 2 to date
 
 
 


 Glenochil
 3
 6
 1 to date
 
 
 
 


 Greenock
 1
 2
 1
 2
 2
 1
 1 to date


 Inverness
 2
 6
 1
 1 to date
 
 
 


Open Estate(created 2001)
 2
 1
 7 to date
 
 
 
 


 Perth
 1
 5
 2
 2 to date
 
 
 


 Peterhead
 3
 6
 1 to date
 
 
 
 


 Polmont
 6
 3
 1 to date
 
 
 
 


 Shotts
 3
 5
 2 to date

Public Private Partnerships

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many schools completed under PPP contracts contain art departments with kilns.

Maureen Watt: The information requested is not held centrally.

Rail Network

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact a new rail stop at Gogar would have on the rail network timetable.

Stewart Stevenson: A new station at Gogar will enhance the connectivity for passengers delivered through the rail network timetable.

Rail Network

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it or Transport Scotland has had any meetings with local landowners about the impact of a new train station at Gogar since the decision on 27 September 2007 on plans for the Edinburgh Airport Rail Link.

Stewart Stevenson: This scheme is at an early stage of development and therefore meetings with landowners who may be affected have not yet been held.

Rail Network

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what level of modal shift from private cars to public transport will be achieved for passengers travelling to Edinburgh Airport as a result of the proposal for a rail stop at Gogar rather than a direct rail link to the airport.

Stewart Stevenson: A significant modal shift from private car to rail use is anticipated as a result of the Edinburgh – Glasgow Improvements Programme, which includes the station at Gogar, to link with the Edinburgh Tram Project. Specific patronage estimates for Gogar station will be developed as part of the normal development process.

Rail Network

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the proposed rail stop at Gogar will have on the levels of road traffic in west Edinburgh compared with those if the direct Edinburgh Airport Rail Link were to have proceeded.

Stewart Stevenson: The Edinburgh – Glasgow Improvements Programme, of which a new station at Gogar comprises one part, should be considered in conjunction with the significant investment in the Edinburgh Tram Project. Taken together, these will have a wider impact on road traffic levels throughout Central Scotland, including West Edinburgh, than EARL would have done.

Rail Network

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has undertaken any investigations into the possibility of an additional rail stop at the Gyle Shopping Centre rather than at Gogar.

Stewart Stevenson: It is intended that one of the benefits of a station at Gogar will be improved public transport access to the South Gyle Shopping Centre. The optimum location of the new station is being considered as part of the current design development work.

Rail Network

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has decided where the proposed new Gogar rail station will be built.

Stewart Stevenson: Transport Scotland is developing plans to build a new railway station in the Gogar area of Edinburgh which will integrate with the tram network for onward connection to Edinburgh airport. This scheme is at an early stage of development.

  There is a number of possible locations for the new Gogar station. A consultant has been appointed to take forward the early design work including single option selection. When completed the design work will define the location of the station and the method of connection to the tram.

Rail Network

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what actions it or Transport Scotland has taken to improve the governance of the Edinburgh Airport Rail Link (EARL) scheme since 27 September 2007.

Stewart Stevenson: It is not intended that the EARL project should proceed. Governance processes now reflect that status.

Residential Care

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many incidents of elder abuse in a care home or home care setting have (a) been reported, (b) been investigated and (c) resulted in conviction in each of the last 10 years, broken down by local authority area.

Shona Robison: This is a matter for the Care Commission. The commission investigates complaints about regulated care services and publishes the outcome of its investigation. The Chief Executive can be contacted at:

  Ms Jacquie Roberts

  Chief Executive

  Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care

  Compass House

  11 Riverside Drive

  DUNDEE

  DD1 4NY

  E: Jacquie.roberts@carecommission.com

  T: 01382 207100.

Residential Care

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to review the personal expenses allowance for residents in care homes for elderly people.

Shona Robison: We agree that the personal expenses allowance needs to be maintained at an adequate level.

  A Department of Health Stakeholder Group – including Age Concern and Help the Aged - has been reviewing the care home charging rules in England. The Group is expected to report this year and it is likely to include reference to the amount of the personal expenses allowance. Scottish Government officials have attended meetings of the Stakeholder Group as observers.

  Given that this work is already in hand we are awaiting the outcome to help us decide how best to take this matter forward in Scotland. Any further work on this issue in Scotland will of course be taken forward in consultation with the relevant organisations, including voluntary organisations and local authorities.

School Meals

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many pupils in each Glasgow primary school were taking free school lunches in (a) June 2007 and (b) December 2007.

Adam Ingram: The most recent school meals data which was collected in February 2007, including the proportion of pupils registered for free school meals in each Glasgow primary school, is available on the Scottish Executive website at www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/SchMeals2007 .

School Meals

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether funding for any continuation of the free school meals pilots beyond March 2008 will come from existing local authority funding allocations or whether it will provide additional funding.

Adam Ingram: The Scottish Government will provide all the funding for the free school lunch trial, including any additional funding required to continue the trial until the end of the current academic year.

School Meals

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether funding for the extension of free school meals to children in families in receipt of maximum working tax credit and maximum child tax credit in August 2009 will come from existing local authority funding allocations or whether it will provide additional funding.

Adam Ingram: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-6744 on 3 December 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

School Meals

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of the poorest 20% of children will benefit from the free school meals pilot.

Adam Ingram: All P1-P3 pupils in the five local authorities participating in the free school lunch trial, including the poorest 20% in each authority, will have access to free nutritious lunches during the trial. The evaluation of the trial will investigate whether there are differences in the rate of uptake among those previously registered for free school meals and those who were not.

Schools

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a list of all schools that have been (a) built and (b) refurbished since 1999, detailing when the work was (i) started and (ii) completed and broken down by funding stream.

Maureen Watt: The following tables list the new build and refurbished schools completed which were counted as falling within the school building commitments of the former Scottish Executive administrations. Comprehensive information is not yet available for the period since March 2007 and was not collected on the dates that work started or on funding streams other than Public Private Partnerships (PPP).

  Period: 1999-2002

  

 Local Authority
 School
 
 Work Type
 Year


 Aberdeen City
 Charleston Primary School
 
 New Build
 1999


 
 Tullos Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2000


 Aberdeenshire
 Pitmedden Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2000


 
 Meldrum Academy
 PPP
 New Build
 2002


 
 Strathburn Primary School
 
 New Build
 2002


 
 Banff Primary School
 PPP
 Refurbishment
 2002


 
 Meldrum Primary School
 PPP
 Refurbishment
 2002


 Angus
 Rosemount Primary School
 
 New Build
 2000


 
 Southmuir Primary School
 
 New Build
 2001


 
 Webster's High School
 
 Refurbishment
 2001


 Argyll and Bute
 Tarbert Academy
 
 Refurbishment
 2000


 Clackmannanshire
 Sunnyside Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 1999


 East Ayrshire
 Auchinleck Primary School
 
 New Build
 2000


 East Lothian
 Dunbar Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2001


 
 Campie Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2002


 East Renfrewshire
 Eaglesham Nursery
 
 New Build
 2000


 
 Netherlee Nursery
 
 New Build
 2001


 
 Mearns Primary School
 PPP
 New Build
 2001


 
 Kirkhill Primary School
 
 New Build
 2001


 
 Giffnock Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2001


 
 Netherlee Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2001


 
 Mearns Castle High School
 
 Refurbishment
 2001


 
 Carolside Nursery
 
 New Build
 2002


 
 St Ninian's High School
 PPP
 Refurbishment
 2002


 Edinburgh
 Craigroyston Primary School
 PPP
 New Build
 2002


 
 Craigour Park Primary School
 PPP
 New Build
 2002


 
 St Thomas of Aquins High School
 
 New Build
 2002


 
 Rowanfield School
 PPP
 New Build
 2002


 
 St David's Primary School
 PPP
 New Build
 2002


 
 Pirniehall Primary School
 PPP
 New Build
 2002


 
 Broomhouse Primary School
 PPP
 New Build
 2002


 
 St Joseph's Primary School
 PPP
 New Build
 2002


 Eilean Siar
 Lochs Community School
 
 New Build
 2001


 Falkirk
 Shieldhill Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 1999


 
 Braes High School
 PPP
 New Build
 2000


 
 Graeme High School
 PPP
 New Build
 2000


 
 Bo'ness Academy
 PPP
 New Build
 2000


 
 Carrongrange Special School
 PPP
 New Build
 2000


 
 Carronshore Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2000


 
 Carmuirs Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2001


 
 Larbert High School
 PPP
 Refurbishment
 2002


 Glasgow
 Glasgow Gaelic School
 
 New Build
 1999


 
 St Paul's High School
 PPP
 Refurbishment
 2000


 
 Knightswood Primary School
 PPP
 New Build
 2001


 
 Lochend Community High School
 PPP
 New Build
 2001


 
 St Mungo's Academy
 PPP
 New Build
 2001


 
 Cleveden High School
 PPP
 New Build
 2001


 
 Hillhead High School
 PPP
 Refurbishment
 2001


 
 Notre Dame High School
 PPP
 Refurbishment
 2001


 Glasgow cont.
 St Roch's High School
 PPP
 Refurbishment
 2001


 
 Whitehill High School
 PPP
 Refurbishment
 2001


 
 Croftfoot Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2001


 
 All Saints Secondary School
 PPP
 New Build
 2002


 
 Drumchapel High School
 PPP
 New Build
 2002


 
 Castlemilk High School
 PPP
 New Build
 2002


 
 Rosshall Academy
 PPP
 New Build
 2002


 
 St Andrew's Secondary School
 PPP
 New Build
 2002


 
 St Margaret Mary's Secondary School
 PPP
 New Build
 2002


 
 Smithycroft Secondary School
 PPP
 New Build
 2002


 
 Springburn Academy
 PPP
 New Build
 2002


 
 Bellahouston Academy
 PPP
 Refurbishment
 2002


 
 Knightswood High School
 PPP
 Refurbishment
 2002


 
 Hyndland High School
 PPP
 Refurbishment
 2002


 
 Eastbank Academy
 PPP
 Refurbishment
 2002


 
 Holyrood High School
 PPP
 Refurbishment
 2002


 
 Bannerman High School
 PPP
 Refurbishment
 2002


 
 Shawlands Academy
 PPP
 Refurbishment
 2002


 
 Govan High School
 PPP
 Refurbishment
 2002


 
 Hillpark High School
 PPP
 Refurbishment
 2002


 
 John Paul Academy
 PPP
 Refurbishment
 2002


 
 King's Park High School
 PPP
 Refurbishment
 2002


 
 Lourdes High School
 PPP
 Refurbishment
 2002


 Highland
 Ullapool High School
 
 New Build
 2000


 
 Strathpeffer Primary School
 
 New Build
 2001


 
 Spean Bridge Primary School
 PPP
 New Build
 2002


 
 Strathdearn Primary School
 PPP
 New Build
 2002


 
 Ardnamurchan High School
 PPP
 New Build
 2002


 
 Glenurquhart High School
 PPP
 New Build
 2002


 Inverclyde
 Gourock Primary School
 
 New Build
 2000


 
 Port Glasgow High School
 
 Refurbishment
 2000


 
 Wellpark Children's Centre
 
 New Build
 2001


 Moray
 Lossiemouth High School
 
 Refurbishment
 2001


 North Ayrshire
 Beith Primary School
 
 New Build
 1999


 
 Lawthorn Primary School
 
 New Build
 2000


 
 Springvale Nursery
 
 New Build
 2001


 North Lanarkshire
 Alexander Peden Primary School
 
 New Build
 1999


 
 Stepping Stones Nursery School
 
 New Build
 2001


 
 St Andrew's Primary School
 
 New Build
 2002


 
 Cumbernauld Primary School
 
 New Build
 2002


 Orkney
 Dounby Community School
 
 Refurbishment
 2000


 
 Firth Primary School
 
 New Build
 2001


 Perth and Kinross
 Crieff Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2000


 
 Abernethy Primary School
 
 New Build
 2002


 
 Auchterarder Primary School
 
 New Build
 2002


 Scottish Borders
 Stow Primary School
 
 New Build
 2000


 
 Jedburgh Grammar School
 
 Refurbishment
 2000


 
 Peebles High School
 
 Refurbishment
 2000


 Shetland
 Whiteness Primary
 
 Refurbishment
 1999


 
 Ollaberry Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2000


 
 Aith High School
 
 Refurbishment
 2001


 
 Skerries School
 
 Refurbishment
 2001


 South Ayrshire
 Dundonald Primary School
 
 New Build
 2000


 South Lanarkshire
 Hunter High School
 
 Refurbishment
 2001


 Stirling
 Doune Nursery
 
 New Build
 2000


 
 East Plean Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2000


 
 Cornton Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2000


 
 Balfron High School
 PPP
 New Build
 2001


 
 Killearn Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2002


 West Dunbartonshire
 Garshake Nursery
 
 New Build
 2000


 
 St Mary's Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2000


 
 St Stephen's Primary School
 
 New Build
 2001


 West Lothian
 Broxburn Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 1999


 
 Beatlie School
 
 Refurbishment
 1999


 
 Eastertoun Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2000


 
 Inveralmond Early Years Centre
 
 New Build
 2001


 
 Bellsquarry Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2001


 
 Linlithgow Bridge Primary School
 PPP
 New Build
 2002


 
 Livingston Village Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2002


 
 Whitburn Academy
 PPP
 Refurbishment
 2002


 
 Broxburn Academy
 PPP
 Refurbishment
 2002


 
 Low Port Primary School
 PPP
 Refurbishment
 2002


 
 Linlithgow Primary School
 PPP
 Refurbishment
 2002


 
 Bathgate Academy
 PPP
 Refurbishment
 2002



  Period: 2003 to Mar 2007

  

 Authority
 School
 
 Work Type
 Year


 Aberdeen City
 Kingsford Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2003


 
 Kingswells Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2006


 Aberdeenshire
 Port Errol Primary School
 
 New Build
 2003


 
 Longside Primary School
 PPP
 New Build
 2005


 
 Rosehearty Primary School
 PPP
 New Build
 2005


 
 Rothienorman Primary School
 PPP
 New Build
 2005


 
 Hill of Banchory Primary School
 PPP
 New Build
 2006


 
 Kintore Primary School
 PPP
 New Build
 2006


 
 Portlethen Academy
 PPP
 New Build
 2006


 
 Methlick Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2006


 
 Mill o'Forest Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2006


 
 Lairhillock Primary School
 
 New Build
 2007


 
 Auchenblae Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2007


 Angus
 Inverkeillor Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2003


 
 Edzell Primary School
 
 New Build
 2004


 
 Hayshead Primary School 
 
 Refurbishment
 2006


 
 Southesk Primary School 
 
 Refurbishment
 2006


 Argyll and Bute
 Achahoish Primary School
 
 New Build
 2005


 
 Rhu Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2005


 
 Southend Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2006


 
 Rothesay Primary School
 PPP
 New Build
 2007


 
 Rothesay Academy
 PPP
 New Build
 2007


 Clackmannanshire
 Alva Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2004


 Dumfries and Galloway
 Sanquhar Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2003


 
 Georgetown Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2004


 
 Belmont Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2005


 
 Sanquhar Academy
 
 Refurbishment
 2006


 Dundee
 Morgan Academy
 
 Refurbishment
 2004


 
 Forthill Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2006


 
 St John's High School
 
 Refurbishment
 2006


 East Ayrshire
 James Hamilton Academy
 
 Refurbishment
 2004


 
 Loudoun Academy
 
 Refurbishment
 2004


 
 Cumnock Academy
 
 Refurbishment
 2006


 East Dunbartonshire
 Boclair Academy
 
 Refurbishment
 2005


 
 Hillhead Nursery
 
 New Build
 2006


 East Lothian
 Aberlady Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2003


 
 East Linton Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2004


 
 Elphinstone Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2005


 
 Stoneyhill Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2006


 
 St Gabriel's RC Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2006


 
 Dunbar Grammar School
 PPP
 Refurbishment
 2006


 
 Knox Academy
 PPP
 Refurbishment
 2006


 
 Musselburgh Grammar School
 PPP
 Refurbishment
 2006


 
 North Berwick High School
 PPP
 Refurbishment
 2006


 
 Preston Lodge High School
 PPP
 Refurbishment
 2006


 
 Ross High School
 PPP
 Refurbishment
 2006


 
 Windygoul Primary School
 
 New Build
 2007


 East Renfrewshire
 Eastwood High School
 
 Refurbishment
 2005


 
 Mearns Castle High School
 PPP
 Refurbishment
 2005


 
 Williamwood High School
 PPP
 New Build
 2006


 
 Carlibar Primary Inclusive Campus
 PPP
 New Build
 2006


 
 Woodfarm High School
 
 Refurbishment
 2006


 Edinburgh
 Castleview Primary School
 PPP
 New Build
 2003


 
 Craigmount High School
 PPP
 New Build
 2003


 
 Forthview Primary School
 PPP
 New Build
 2003


 
 Gracemount High School
 PPP
 New Build
 2003


 
 The Royal High School
 PPP
 Refurbishment
 2003


 
 Drummond High School
 PPP
 Refurbishment
 2003


 
 Kaimes Special School
 
 Refurbishment
 2004


 
 Braidburn Special School
 PPP
 New Build
 2005


 
 St Peter's Primary School
 PPP
 New Build
 2005


 
 Oxgangs Primary School
 PPP
 New Build
 2005


 
 East Craigs Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2005


 
 Blackhall Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2005


 
 Firrhill High School
 PPP
 Refurbishment
 2005


 
 Oaklands Special School
 
 New Build
 2006


 Eilean Siar
 Sir E Scott High School
 
 Refurbishment
 2004


 Falkirk
 Airth Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2003


 
 Deanburn Primary School
 
 New Build
 2005


 
 Bainsford Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2005


 
 Antonine Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2006


 
 St Margaret's Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2007


 Fife
 Anstruther Primary School
 PPP
 New Build
 2003


 
 Beath High School
 PPP
 New Build
 2003


 
 Queen Anne High School
 PPP
 New Build
 2003


 
 Kings Road Primary School
 
 New Build
 2004


 
 Pitcoudie Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2005


 
 Bell Baxter High School
 
 Refurbishment
 2005


 
 St Columba's RC Primary School
 PPP
 New Build
 2006


 
 Fair Isle Primary School
 PPP
 New Build
 2006


 
 Strathallan Primary School
 PPP
 New Build
 2006


 
 Masterton Primary School
 PPP
 New Build
 2006


 
 Inverkeithing Primary School
 PPP
 New Build
 2006


 
 Carnock Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2006


 
 Kennoway Primary School
 PPP
 New Build
 2007


 
 Inzievar Primary School
 PPP
 New Build
 2007


 
 Holy Name RC Primary School
 PPP
 New Build
 2007


 Glasgow
 St Thomas Aquinas High School
 PPP
 New Build
 2003


 
 St Clare’s Primary School
 
 New Build
 2004


 
 Castleton Primary School
 
 New Build
 2004


 
 Haghill Primary School
 
 New Build
 2004


 
 St Benedict’s Primary School
 
 New Build
 2004


 
 Lourdes Primary School
 
 New Build
 2004


 
 Saracen Primary School
 
 New Build
 2004


 
 St Teresa's Primary School
 
 New Build
 2004


 
 Keppoch Nursery
 
 New Build
 2004


 
 Broomlea Special School
 
 New Build
 2004


 
 Pikeman Nursery
 
 Refurbishment
 2004


 
 Festival Park Day Nursery
 
 New Build
 2005


 
 Camstradden Primary School
 
 New Build
 2006


 
 St Maria Gorretti Primary School
 
 New Build
 2006


 
 Cranhill Primary School
 
 New Build
 2006


 
 Avenue End Primary School
 
 New Build
 2006


 
 St Rose of Lima Primary School
 
 New Build
 2006


 
 Wallacewall Primary School
 
 New Build
 2006


 
 Antonine Primary School
 
 New Build
 2006


 
 St Bartholomew's Primary School
 
 New Build
 2006


 
 Glasgow Gaelic School
 
 Refurbishment
 2006


 
 Dalmarnock Primary School
 
 New Build
 2007


 
 Hazelwood School
 
 New Build
 2007


 
 Crookston Castle Primary School
 
 New Build
 2007


 Highland
 Glenurquhart Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2005


 
 Ullapool Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2005


 
 Kingussie High School
 
 Refurbishment
 2005


 Inverclyde
 St Francis Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2004


 
 King's Oak Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2006


 
 St Michael's Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2006


 
 St Joseph's Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2006


 Midlothian
 St Andrew’s Primary School
 
 New Build
 2003


 
 St David's High School
 PPP
 New Build
 2003


 
 Dalkeith High School
 PPP
 New Build
 2003


 
 Saltersgate Special School
 PPP
 New Build
 2003


 
 Mauricewood Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2006


 Moray
 Bishopmill Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2007


 North Ayrshire
 Woodlands Primary School
 
 New Build
 2003


 
 Mayfield Primary School
 
 New Build
 2004


 
 Abbey Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2006


 
 Dalry Primary School
 
 New Build
 2007


 
 Auchenharvie Academy
 
 Refurbishment
 2007


 North Lanarkshire
 Baird Memorial Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2003


 
 John Paul II Primary School
 PPP
 New Build
 2006


 
 St Timothy's Primary School
 PPP
 New Build
 2006


 
 Tannochside Primary School
 PPP
 New Build
 2006


 
 St Andrew's High School
 PPP
 New Build
 2006


 
 Airdrie Academy
 PPP
 New Build
 2006


 
 Glengowan Primary School
 PPP
 New Build 
 2006


 
 St Mary's Primary School
 PPP
 New Build 
 2006


 
 Chapelhall Primary School
 PPP
 New Build 
 2006


 
 St Aloysius Primary School
 PPP
 New Build 
 2006


 
 Glenboig Primary School
 PPP
 New Build 
 2006


 
 Our Lady and St Joseph Primary School
 PPP
 New Build 
 2006


 
 New Stevenston Primary School
 PPP
 New Build 
 2006


 
 St Patrick's Primary School
 PPP
 New Build 
 2006


 
 Plains Primary School
 PPP
 New Build 
 2006


 
 St David's Primary School
 PPP
 New Build 
 2006


 
 Carnbroe Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2006


 
 Holy Cross Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2007


 Orkney
 Burray Primary School
 
 New Build
 2006


 
 Glaitness Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2006


 Perth and Kinross
 Auchterarder High School
 
 New Build
 2005


 Renfrewshire
 Todholm Primary School
 PPP
 New Build
 2006


 
 St Andrew's Academy
 PPP
 New Build
 2006


 
 Gleniffer High School
 PPP
 New Build
 2006


 
 St Benedict's High School
 PPP
 New Build
 2006


 
 Trinity High School
 
 Refurbishment
 2006


 
 Langcraigs Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2006


 
 Williamsburgh Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2006


 Shetland
 South Nesting Primary School
 
 New Build
 2004


 
 Gressy Loan ASN Unit 
 
 Refurbishment
 2005


 South Ayrshire
 Carrick Academy
 
 Refurbishment
 2006


 South Lanarkshire
 West Coats Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2003


 
 St Bride's Primary School
 
 New Build
 2004


 
 Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School
 
 New Build
 2004


 
 Burnside Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2005


 
 Calderside Nursery
 PPP
 New Build
 2006


 
 High Blantyre Primary School
 
 New Build
 2006


 
 Law Primary School
 
 New Build
 2006


 
 St Columbkille's Primary School
 
 New Build
 2006


 
 St Elizabeth's Primary School
 
 New Build
 2006


 
 St Hilary's Primary School
 
 New Build
 2006


 
 Cathkin Primary School
 
 New Build
 2006


 
 Chatelherault Primary School
 
 New Build
 2006


 
 Greenhills Primary School
 
 New Build
 2006


 
 Robert Owen Primary School
 
 New Build
 2006


 
 St Vincent's Primary School
 
 New Build
 2006


 
 Calderwood Primary School
 
 New Build
 2007


 North Lanarkshire
 Castlefield Primary School
 
 New Build
 2007


 cont.
 St Cuthbert's Primary School
 
 New Build
 2007


 
 Glenlee Primary School
 
 New Build 
 2007


 
 Hamilton School for the Deaf
 
 New Build 
 2007


 Stirling
 Balfron Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2003


 
 Fallin Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2004


 
 Buchlyvie Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2006


 
 Baker Street Nursery
 
 Refurbishment
 2006


 West Dunbartonshire
 Kilpatrick Special School
 
 New Build
 2004


 
 Knoxland Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2007


 West Lothian
 Windyknowe Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2003


 
 Polkemmet Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2004


 
 Boghall Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2004


 
 Uphall Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2004


 
 Murrayfield Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2004


 
 Carmondean Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2004


 
 Mid Calder Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2004


 
 Parkhead Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2004


 
 Knightsridge Nursery
 
 New Build
 2005


 
 Harrysmuir Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2005


 
 Falla Hill Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2005


 
 St Ninian's RC Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2005


 
 Bathgate Nursery
 
 New Build
 2006


 
 Simpson Primary School
 
 New Build
 2006


 
 West Calder High School
 
 Refurbishment
 2006


 
 Balbardie Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2006


 
 Riverside Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2006


 
 St Mary's RC Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2006


 
 Whitdale Primary School
 
 Refurbishment
 2006

Schools

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many contracts for the building of new schools have been signed in each local authority since May 2007.

Maureen Watt: Local authorities procure new schools through more than one procurement route. Seven local authorities have signed school PPP contracts since May 2007, allowing building work to progress on 45 schools, almost all new builds. Those authorities, with their shares of 45 schools, are Aberdeen City (10), Dumfries and Galloway (10), East Dunbartonshire (6), Falkirk (4), Perth and Kinross (9), West Dunbartonshire (4) and West Lothian (2). With the exception of Public Private Partnerships (PPP), the Scottish Government does not hold comprehensive information about local authorities’ school building contracts.

Schools

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive on what dates the Minister for Children and Early Years met parents’ representatives from St. Xavier’s Primary School to discuss proposals by East Ayrshire Council to close the school.

Adam Ingram: In my capacity as list MSP for the South of Scotland, and with the clear understanding that it was not in my role as minister, I met with parents of St Xavier’s Primary School on 27 January 2008.

Schools

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive on what dates the Minister for Children and Early Years met parents’ representatives from Sorn Primary School to discuss proposals by East Ayrshire Council to close the school.

Adam Ingram: I have not met with parents’ representatives of Sorn Primary School on this matter.

Schools

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive on what dates the Minister for Children and Early Years met parents’ representatives from Crossroads Primary School to discuss proposals by East Ayrshire Council to close the school.

Adam Ingram: I have not met with parents’ representatives of Crossroads Primary School on this matter.

Sexual Exploitation

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received any representations from organisations or individuals regarding adverts in local, regional and national newspapers advertising sexual services.

Kenny MacAskill: No formal representations have been received regarding newspaper advertisements for sexual services.

Sexual Exploitation

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any data or research regarding adverts in local, regional and national newspapers advertising sexual services.

Kenny MacAskill: We have not collected any data nor commissioned any research regarding advertisements for sexual services in Scottish newspapers.

Sexual Exploitation

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to carry out any research in Scotland regarding the advertising of women for sex in newspapers and magazines.

Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government has no plans to carry out research regarding the advertising of women for sex in newspapers and magazines. We consider that such research would be unlikely to add significantly to the findings of the report Women Not for Sale: A report on advertising in women in small ads in local newspapers , published by the UK Government Equalities Office in January 2008

Sexual Exploitation

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make a response to findings contained in the Women Not for Sale report published in January 2008 by the UK Government Equalities Office.

Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government is aware of the report by the UK Government Equalities Office on the advertising of sexual services in local newspapers. We welcome the decision by the Newspaper Society to update its guidance for members on those advertisements which should be accepted on classified pages, in light of the Equalities Office’s report. We look to publishers of newspapers in Scotland to take steps to ensure that they treat such advertisements in accordance with the guidance.

Single Outcome Agreements

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made with regard to finalisation of single outcome agreements.

John Swinney: We expect all 32 councils to submit their proposed single outcome agreements by 31 March 2008, and aim to complete the process of agreeing single outcome agreements with each council by 30 June 2008.

Single Outcome Agreements

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to pilot single outcome agreements.

John Swinney: We do not intend to pilot single outcome agreements. We are working to agree single outcome agreements with all councils by 30 June 2008.

Substance Misuse

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to support children who have been affected by substance misuse.

Adam Ingram: The Scottish Government is currently updating its approach to protecting and supporting children affected by parental substance misuse, building on the work done through Hidden Harm in the context of its early intervention agenda. Actions to support children affected by substance misuse will focus on prevention, support for families and strengthening systems to protect children from harm and embed the principles of Getting it Right for Every Child . They will also be fully integrated with wider government work on drugs and alcohol and in the development of the early years framework.

Swimming Pools

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure that more swimming pools are built across Scotland.

Stewart Maxwell: It is for individual local authorities to determine the level of provision of swimming pools in their areas based on local needs and priorities.

Teachers

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the benefits are of the League for the Exchange of Commonwealth Teachers programme.

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding support it provided for the League for the Exchange of Commonwealth Teachers programme in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08.

Maureen Watt: Grant funding totalling £215,000 has been made available over the two years of 2006-07 and 2007-08 to The League for the Exchange of Commonwealth Teachers (LECT) to provide continuous professional development (CPD) opportunities for primary and secondary school teachers, through various exchange programmes and study visits. In addition, Learning and Teaching Scotland grant funded LECT £70,000 in 2006-07 to support educational activity in Malawi.

  A Curriculum for Excellence provides the opportunity for an engaging, exciting and relevant education for every child and young person which helps to develop them as successful learners, effective contributors, responsible citizens and confident individuals. Teacher exchanges and study visits have a positive impact on learning and teaching in schools and provides an opportunity for teachers to reflect on their practice. This will also contribute to the National Outcome in the concordat between the Scottish Government and COSLA, that all young people are successful learners, confident individuals, effective contributors and responsible citizens.

Teachers

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what sources of funding exist that enable teachers to undertake work exchange programmes abroad.

Maureen Watt: Both the League for the Exchange of Commonwealth Teachers (LECT) and the British Council provide opportunities for teachers to undertake work exchange programmes in Commonwealth countries and in the USA respectively.

  In addition, there are a wide of range of opportunities for teachers in Scotland to learn from practice in other counties funded by the Scottish Government. This includes the Scottish Continuing International Professional Development (SCIPD) programme administered by Learning and Teaching Scotland which provides opportunities for individual and group study visits for teachers to share experience and learn from practice in other countries. In addition, over the years 2005-06 to 2007-08, the British Council has supported head teacher visits to China; LECT and LINK Community Development have supported teacher visits to Malawi, and several other schemes administered by the British Council and the Developing Effective International Education Practice (DEIEP) consortium have provided further opportunities for teachers’ international study visits.

  We are working in partnership with key stakeholders to increase the awareness of and to simplify the plethora of opportunities available to teachers and pupils to learn from an international experience. The main aim is to ensure young people grow up with a Scottish world view, and that they have a range of knowledge and skills with which to engage in today’s increasingly multicultural and globalised society, where young people travel widely for jobs and speak a variety of languages.

Transport

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much each local authority received from the Public Transport Fund and Integrated Transport Fund in each year of the 2004 spending review.

Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government does not hold information on these funds in the form requested.

  Expenditure over the first two years of the 2004 spending review from the Public Transport Fund and the Integrated Transport Fund was distributed by grants paid under section 70 of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2001. Details for the financial years 2005-06 and 2006-07 are contained in the annual reports to the Scottish Parliament, copies of which are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. numbers 39974 and 43126).

  Public Transport and Integrated Transport Funding that remained available in 2007-08 was allocated to Regional Transport Partnerships or Transport Scotland, who assumed responsibility for delivery. This was conditional on the work being completed by 31 March 2008, when this funding stream closes.

Transport

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it or Transport Scotland has commissioned any consultants’ reports on the feasibility and deliverability of a tram-train interchange at Gogar since the decision on 27 September 2007 on plans for the Edinburgh Airport Rail Link and, if so, when such reports were commissioned.

Stewart Stevenson: Transport Scotland is developing plans to build a new Railway Station in the Gogar area of Edinburgh which will provide connection with the tram network for travel to Edinburgh airport. This scheme is at an early stage of development.

  Transport Scotland issued an invitation to tender for the early design work in December 2007 and appointed the successful bidder for the early design stages of the new facility on 7 February 2008.

  When completed the design work will define the exact location of the station and the method of connection to the Tram.

Transport

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it or Transport Scotland has instructed TIE Limited to alter the plan for the Gogar depot tram stop, in light of the Scottish Government’s alternative plans for the Edinburgh Airport Rail Link, or whether TIE Limited is progressing with a staff-only tram depot stop.

Stewart Stevenson: Transport Scotland has not requested City of Edinburgh Council to instruct Tie Limited to take any action to alter the plans for the Gogar Tram Depot.

Transport

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it or Transport Scotland has met Network Rail to seek its views on the feasibility and deliverability of the proposal for an airport station at Gogar since the decision on 27 September 2007 on plans for the Edinburgh Airport Rail Link and, if so, how often such meetings have taken place.

Stewart Stevenson: Transport Scotland are taking forward the "Edinburgh to Glasgow Improvements Programme" using a joint approach with Network Rail and First ScotRail.

  Meetings between Transport Scotland, Network Rail and First ScotRail are held on a weekly basis and the Joint Programme Board meets on a 4 weekly basis.

  The Gogar station initiative is one of the elements of the larger programme and progress is discussed regularly between the parties.

Transport

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it or Transport Scotland have attended any meetings of the (a) TIE Limited Board or (b) the Edinburgh Trams Project Board in (i) 2006-07 and (ii) 2007-08 and, if so, when they attended and in what capacity.

Stewart Stevenson: Transport Scotland routinely attended the four weekly meetings of both the TIE Limited Board and Edinburgh Trams Project Board from September 2006 to July 2007. Transport Scotland was an observer on the TIE Limited Project Board and a member of the Edinburgh Trams Project Board.

Transport

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated cost of Bus Service Operators Grant claims for mileage is in 2008-09.

Stewart Stevenson: We estimate that the cost of Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) in 2008-09 will be approximately £61 million. Following the budget statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on 6 February 2008, I can confirm that it is our intention that the budget for BSOG will be around £61 million in 2008-09.

Transport

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it expects the budget of £57.2 million for Support for Bus Services in Scottish Budget: Spending Review 2007 in 2008-09 to be sufficient to cover Bus Service Operators Grant claims for mileage.

Stewart Stevenson: Following the budget statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on 6 February 2008, I can confirm that it is our intention that the budget for Bus Service Operators Grant will be around £61 million in 2008-09.

Transport

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the additional funding allocated to the budget line for the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) in 2008-09 will have to be used to cover the shortfall between the original budget for Support for Bus Services in Scottish Budget: Spending Review 2007 and the estimated cost of BSOG claims for mileage.

Stewart Stevenson: Following the budget statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on 6 February 2008, I can confirm that it is our intention that the total funding available for Bus Service Operators Grant will be around £61 million in 2008-09.

Transport

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact it expects the additional funding allocated to the budget line for the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) in 2008-09 to have on the current BSOG rate of reimbursement of 39.21 pence per litre.

Stewart Stevenson: Following the budget statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on 6 February 2008, I can confirm that it is our intention that the total funding available for Bus Service Operators Grant will be around £61 million in 2008-09 which should mean that the reimbursement rate remains at 39.21 pence per litre.

Waterways

Keith Brown (Ochil) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of any activities by Scottish Water or other public agencies in the area of the River Devon and Glendevon reservoir on 26 January 2008 which could have resulted in a substantial change in water levels on the River Devon that day.

Stewart Stevenson: Scottish Water has confirmed that it did not carry out any activities in the reservoir system connected to the River Devon which could have resulted in a substantial change in water levels on the River Devon on 26 January 2008. Scottish Water's reservoirs in this area actually act as a buffer in periods of heavy rainfall and reduce the rate that water enters the River Devon by absorbing rainfall into the body of the reservoir.

  On 26 January 2008, river levels would have been affected by the unprecedented level of rainfall which had occurred over the previous three days, with especially heavy rainfall on 25 January. Scottish Water records rainfall levels on site and this information is regularly provided to the Met Office. Over the three day period from 23 January to 25 January 2008, Scottish Water recorded rainfall levels of 182mm. The rainfall on 25 January was 99.2mm, and records from 1950 to 2008 show that this is the highest level of rainfall ever recorded within a 24-hour period at this location. Prior to this, the highest level of rainfall within a 24-hour period had been 70.9mm on 2 May 1982.

Young Offenders

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many secure accommodation places are (a) provided and (b) vacant in North Lanarkshire and what the cost is of each such place.

Adam Ingram: St Philip’s secure accommodation unit is situated in North Lanarkshire and it contains 24 secure beds. It is a national resource. The number of vacancies varies daily and we do not gather this information centrally.

Young People

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what communities in South Ayrshire will benefit from the Midnight Leagues football project for young people.

Fergus Ewing: There are currently two locations in South Ayrshire which hold Midnight League activities – Whitletts Astro Turf, Ayr and Hamilton Park, Girvan. The venues provide football playing opportunities to 70 and 30 young people respectively.

  Activities at both venues not only benefit young people from Ayr and Girvan, but also those participants from the surrounding communities.

Young People

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what communities in East Ayrshire will benefit from the Midnight League football project for young people.

Fergus Ewing: There are currently two locations in East Ayrshire which hold Midnight League activities – Cumnock Academy and Muirkirk Games Hall. The venues provide football playing opportunities to 60 and 30 young people respectively.

  Activities at both venues not only benefit young people from Cumnock and Muirkirk, but also those participants from the surrounding communities.

Young People

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what coalfield communities will benefit from the Midnight League football project for young people.

Fergus Ewing: The following table reflects the Midnight League activities which took place in coalfield communities in 2007. It is expected that the same communities as well as Tranent in East Lothian will benefit from Midnight League football activities in 2008.

  

 Local Authority Area
 Coalfield Area
 Venue


 Clackmannanshire
 Alloa
 Tulligarth Leisure Complex, Alloa


 East Ayrshire
 Cumnock
 Cumnock Academy


 East Ayrshire
 Auchinleck
 Auchinleck Academy


 East Ayrshire
 Dalmellington
 Doon Academy


 Dumfries and Galloway
 Kellholm / Kirkconnel
 Hillview Leisure Centre, Kirkconnel


 West Lothian
 Whitburn
 Whitburn Community Centre


 West Lothian
 Armadale
 Armadale Community Centre


 West Lothian
 Blackburn
 Blackburn Community Centre


 Mid Lothian
 Dalkeith
 Dalkeith Community Campus


 North Lanarkshire
 Shotts
 Shotts Leisure Centre


 North Lanarkshire
 Cumbernauld / Croy
 St Andrews Primary School, Cumbernauld


 Fife
 West / Central Fife
 Woodmill High School


 Fife
 West / Central/Fife
 The Fleets Grounds, Rosyth


 Falkirk
 Bo’ness
 Bo’ness High School


 South Lanarkshire
 Burnbank / Blantyre
 Hamilton Power League, Burnbank


 South Ayrshire
 Tarbolton
 Tarbolton Activity Centre